Manila Standard - 2021 November 27 - Saturday

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(Story on A4) CHINA LOWERS RHETORIC ON AYUNGIN, MARITIME EXPERT BARES BEIJING’S TACK

By Rey E. Requejo and Macon Ramos-Araneta CHINA’S ambassador to Manila on Friday expressed confidence that the relationship between Beijing and the Philippines could withstand differences following the incident last week at the Ayungin Shoal.

In a Facebook post, Chinese Ambassador Huang Xilian said it was “normal” for differences to occur “even among best friends and neighbors.”

His statement follows a belligerent statement from the Chinese foreign ministry in Beijing saying it was the Philippines that had trespassed on Chinese waters.

“China and the Philippines are close neighbors. We have a thousand reasons to seek peaceful coexistence and mutually beneficial cooperation. It is just normal to have differences even among best friends and neighbors," Huang said.

"What matters is how we handle and manage those differences in the spirit of Next page

VOL. XXXV • NO. 285 • 3 SECTIONS 12 PAGES • P18 SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 27, 2021 • www.manilastandard.net • mst.daydesk@gmail.com

PH on alert for new variant

WHO raises alarm over new infectious, vax-resistant mutant in South Africa Flights barred from 7 African countries

By Willie Casas

T

HE government is monitoring the new coronavirus variant B.1.1.529 that already has cases in South Africa, acting presidential spokesperson and Cabinet Secretary Karlo Nograles said Friday.

THE Philippines on Friday suspended inbound flights from South Africa and other countries amid the presence of a new COVID-19 variant there, which is supposedly more transmissible and dangerous.

The Inter-Agency Task Force (IATF) approved the suspension of inbound international flights from the following

During a Palace briefing, Nograles said mem- EID) and the Department of Health (DOH) are bers of the Inter-Agency Task Force for the Man- largely aware of the variant described by experts agement of Emerging Infectious Diseases (IATF- as “heavily mutated.”

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FOR, AGAINST VAX. Health workers and volunteers set up solar lamps and lights powered by a portable solar device to inoculate 200 individuals during the COVID-19 vaccination drive held at Sulu-an Island Gymnasium in Guiuan, Eastern Samar on Nov. 24. But a group that claims its members are all unvaccinated gather at the Freedom Park of the Quezon City Memorial Circle on Friday to protest the government’s call for mandatory vaccination against the coronavirus.

Manny Palmero

Gov’t scrambles for volunteers for vax day

By Vito Barcelo

THE Philippines will welcome back fullyvaccinated tourists from most countries next week, the government said Friday, over 20 months after shutting its borders

to keep out the coronavirus.

Falling COVID-19 infections and rising vaccine coverage will allow the country to revive its battered tourism sector with the December 1 reopening, President Rodrigo Duterte's spokesman

Karlo Nograles told reporters.

Fully vaccinated tourists from 157 countries will not be quarantined if they test negative for the virus just before their flight and if they have not travelled to countries with high infection rates in the

previous two weeks.

A list of approved countries provided

by Nograles, excludes China, the Philippines' fastest-growing tourist market, as well as Taiwan and India.

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‘Keep kids out from crowd if 2,830,387 can’t fit mask’ 863

17,853

48,017

142

2,764,517

791

(As of 4 PM, NOV. 26)

Borders open to fully-vaxxed tourists Dec. 1 THE government is looking for more volunteers for the three-day national vaccination drive from Nov. 29 to Dec. 1.

National Vaccines Operation Center (NVOC) head and Health Undersecretary Myrna Cabotaje said at least 5,000 volunteers have passed the application.

This does not yet include those who have directly contacted their local government units (LGU).

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117 SCHOOLS JOIN IN-PERSON CLASSES NEWS / A2

By Willie Casas INFANTS and younger children who cannot wear anti-coronavirus masks should be kept away from malls and other crowded areas, Malacañang said Friday.

"Everybody must comply with the minimum public health standards, particularly the wearing of face masks," said Palace acting spokesman Cabinet Secretary Karlo Nograles.

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FACE TO FACE FINALLY. Teacher Chihiro Nakagawa (left) jumps as she teaches her Japanese grade 1 students the proper physical exercise in Manila Japanese School (MJS) in Taguig City on Friday, marking the first day of face to face classes in Metro Manila as the only school approved by the Department of Education. Meanwhile, Ronjay Abes (inset), an elementary student of Efipanio Delos Santos Elementary school in Singalong, Manila, answers his module beside his mother tending their goods along Padre Faura Street. Danny Pata

Tawi-Tawi son tops CE Board exams SM CITY GRAND CENTRAL OPENS. Caloocan City officials led by

Mayor Oscar “Oca” G. Malapitan (3rd from right), 2nd District Rep. Edgar R. Erice (3rd from left), and Vice Mayor Macario "Maca" Asistio III (2nd from right) grace the opening of SM City Grand Central. SM Prime Holdings’ 78th supermall is the second in Caloocan after SM Center Sangandaan. Joining them are SM Prime Holdings, Inc. President Jeffrey Lim (2nd from left), SM Engineering Design and Development President Hans Sy Jr. (left), SM Prime Director Herbert Sy (right), and Reverend Father Jeronimo Cruz (center), Rector of the Cathedral and Vicar General of the Diocese of Kalookan.

A YOUNG graduate from TawiTawi topped the 2021 Civil Engineering Board Exams given by the Professional Regulations Commission (PRC) in several venues last November 14 and 15.

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Frontliners: Not true we got all benefits FRONTLINE health workers debunked Friday what Health Secretary Francisco Duque III and Research Institute for Tropical Medicine (RITM) Director Celia Carlos claimed that they already received all the COVID-19 benefits stated in Bayanihan Law 2.

Their statement was released through a newspaper last November 25, the RITM

Employees Association-Alliance of Health Workers (RITMEA-AHW) said in a statement.

In a previous statement released by AHW, they said many DOH-retained hospitals only got 30 percent of the funds from the DOH for their meal, accommodation and transportation

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News

SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 27, 2021

mst.daydesk@gmail.com

Noche Buena items SRP list out T In a statement, the DTI said the SRP guide includes products such as ham, queso de bola, cheese, sandwich spread, mayonnaise, spaghetti sauce, tomato sauce, all-purpose cream, and pasta— spaghetti noodles, elbow and salad macaroni variants.

“The DTI thanks the manufacturers

for heeding the call not to increase prices demonstrating their sense of solidarity with our consumers this Christmas despite the COVID-19 pandemic. In doing this, we give wider choices of affordable noche buena products for the Filipino consumers,” said Trade Secretary Ramon Lopez.

“Our efforts to safely reopen the economy to bring back more jobs while keeping prices relatively stable will make the Christmas season merrier,” Lopez added.

Meanwhile, with Christmas just around the corner, Partido Reporma chairman and standard-bearer Panfilo “Ping” Lacson is hopeful Filipino consumers would help keep local businesses thrive by purchasing products that are made, designed and developed in the Philippines.

Lacson expressed this proposal in a virtual media forum Thursday, not only in answer to a question about inflation, but also to help micro-, small- and mediumenterprises (MSMEs) rebound from its losses due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

PH...

Botswana is under the "yellow list.”

Travelers from these areas may be allowed to enter the Philippines, subject to applicable quarantine and testing protocols.

In Europe, governments across the continent rushed to bolster their defenses against a fresh coronavirus spike, as South Africa announced it had detected a new Covid-19 strain that scientists fear could torpedo efforts to beat the pandemic. (See story on B2 – Editors) OCTA fellow Guido David said the new B.1.1.529 variant may be a potential cause for concern.

The B.1.1.529 was found to have at least 10 mutations, compared to two for Delta and three for Beta, and is being blamed for a surge of infections in South Africa.

“At this stage, all we can say is this could definitely be a potential for serious concern. The concern is this virus is now radically different to the original,” David said.

“We will monitor this in terms of infectiousness and vaccine escape,” he added.

The United Kingdom has said that it will ban travel from six southern African countries due to an early indication that the new variant may be more transmissible than the Delta variant.

The DOH said it is waiting for a statement from the WHO regarding the South

African variant.

DOH director Dr. Beverly Ho said WHO is set to meet within the day and may come up with a statement on Saturday.

“The World Health Organization called a meeting today. They just released their advisory and we may find out later in the day or tomorrow what the decision will be on this,” Ho said.

Wire reports said daily infections in South Africa jumped to more than 1,200 on Wednesday from 100 earlier this month.

Experts abroad have expressed concern that the variant may make vaccines less effective due to its spike protein, which is different from the original coronavirus that vaccines are based on.

Dr. Edsel Salvana, an infectious disease expert and a member of the DOHTechnical Advisory Group, said the higher number of mutations does not necessarily mean that the variant has higher transmissibility or resistance to vaccines.

“While the presence of certain mutations is concerning, it does not mean that it has a higher transmissibility or the efficacy of vaccines will be lower,” Salvana said in Filipino during an online briefing.

Salvana also assured the public that anti-COVID-19 measures remain in place all over the world.

“And the fact that this was detected and is already being talked about by

WHO, it shows that our global genomic surveillance is working,” he said.

He also said that compliance with minimum health protocols remains effective against the virus, and that vaccines can still give protection against severe COVID-19.

A surge in cases in Europe, he added, could be due to the cold weather driving people indoors where ventilation is poor.

It could also be due to people being “somewhat careless” about wearing face masks as vaccination rates went up, he said.

Salvana said a lower alert level here was all right as long as transmission here remained low, even though a new variant had been spotted in Hong Kong. Alert levels, he said, were based on the ongoing community transmission.

Presidential adviser for entrepreneurship Joey Concepcion, meanwhile, said preventing a surge of COVID-19 cases is key to keeping the economy open.

“If we want to keep the economy open, we need to take action and vaccinate all our employees and family members and comply with health protocol and guidelines. The private sector has been proactive ever since with calling of the lockdown and securing vaccines. Now we are working together to discuss how to sustain this momentum and prevent a surge again,” Concepcion said.

our sovereign rights over our territory," Nograles said.

The Chinese Coast Guard blocked and fired water cannons at twoPhilippine boats transporting supplies to military personnel of the BRP Sierra Madre at the Ayungin (Second Thomas) Shoal on November 16.

The move drew international criticisms and from President Rodrigo Duterte himself, who said the incident was “abhorrent” and "does not speak well of relations" between Manila and Beijing.

Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana called it “an affront to the Filipino people.”

Meanwhile, two maritime experts asserted that Ayungin Shoal belongs to the Philippines and China has no right to demand the removal of the BRP Sierra Madre from the area, which a UN tribunal affirmed in 2016 is part of Manila’s EEZ in the South China Sea. Rommel Banlaoi, president of the Philippine Association for Chinese Studies, said the Philippine government never committed to removing the grounded ship that has become the country’s outpost in

the West Philippine Sea. “As far as I know, there was no commitment to remove our structure in Ayungin Shoal and our intention of putting the ship (there) was exactly to establish our hold and assert our sovereign rights in the area,” Banlaoi said in an interview with CNN Philippines.

“If there was a statement to remove it, it was not an official commitment,” he said.

In a separate interview on television, international maritime law expert Jay Batongbacal said China deliberately blocks the supply line of the Philippines to Marines stationed on the Sierra Madre to force Manila to remove the moored ship from Ayungin Shoal.

He said the area is high on Beijing’s scorecard of importance incontrolling areas in the West Philippine Sea. Scientists of the University of the Philippines Maritime Institute have also complained about the presence of Chinese militia boats in the country’s EEZ, preventing them from doing research in the area.

Banlaoi, who served at the Department

of National Defense under then Defense Secretary Orlando Mercado, said that in 1999, the government discussed the need to establish a Philippine presence in the area to stop China’s expansionism in the South China Sea, particularly in the Mischief Reef.

“When we grounded our ship there, the Chinese government already urged us to remove our structure there, but we made a lot of [excuses] that we cannot remove the structure because of so many reasons,” Banlaoi said, without elaborating further due to national security issues.

“But back then, the purpose of putting the ship was to really asset our sovereign rights and establish our presence in the area and to keep China from further expanding,” he said.

While China insists all land features in the South China Sea, including those in the West Philippine Sea belong to China’s national territory, the Philippine Constitution asserts that all land features along the Kalayaan Island Group, including Ayungin Shoal, belong tothe Philippines. (See full story online at manilastandard.net)

The Philippines has recorded more than 2.8 million infections since the start of the pandemic, including nearly 48,000 deaths.

Nograles said the Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases (IATF-EID) had approved Resolution 150-A would take effect until December 15, 2021.

Nograles said the resolution could be extended depending on the evaluation and monitoring of its implementation.

“The IATF is preparing to release the order but it will only be for two weeks, from Dec. 1, to Dec 15. But if we see that the implementation is good, we could extend the dates,” he added.

The resolution states that holders of passports valid for at least six months at the time of arrival, and with a return or outbound ticket to their country of origin or next country of destination, will be allowed to enter the Philippines.

“Prior to arrival in the Philippines, the foreigner should have stayed exclusively in "green" list countries, territories, or jurisdictions for 14 days.

Foreigners entering the country must present their proof of vaccination,” he said. With AFP

‘Keep...

nationwide from November 14 to November 24.

Of the 28,102 active cases on November 14, 10.5 percent are severe and 4.5 percent were in critical condition.

This went up to 14.4 percent and 6.0 percent, respectively, on November 24 among 17,864 active cases.

“First of all, there’s no increase in the severe and critical cases among our monitoring of the different hospitals in the country.),” Vergeire said in a live briefing.

Vergeire said the supposed increase was due to the lower number of active cases.

She also stressed that the reporting of severe and critical cases is not included in the time-based tagging, where mild, asymptomatic, and moderate cases are tagged as recovered after 14 days.

Vergeire said the DOH was now coordinating with local government units to fast-track the validation of severe and critical cases.

“They are left at the database when, in fact, when we started validating from the DOH side, we saw that many of them have recovered but the reports have not yet been submitted. So this is a function of reporting,” Vergeire said. (See full story online at manilastandard.net)

sponse to COVID-19 Health Emergency.

The initial sub-allotted funds of P2,156,120,480 for life insurance, meals, accommodation and transportation covers the period of September2020 to December 2020.

The DOH then required the hospitals to utilize the funds until December 31, 2020 and it was stated in the Department Order.

Like the other DOH hospital managements, RITM allotment for MAT benefit amounting to P57 million, was returned to DOH because of the short period of time for utilization, even though health workers did not receive the benefits yet.

The RITMEA-AHW appealed to hospital management to write DOH and ask

to return the P57 million intended for their MAT benefits under Bayanihan Law 2 because it has not yet benefited the RITM health workers yet.

While other health workers from DOH hospitals received their 30-percent MAT benefits, it was only on July 12, 2021 that RITM management wrote the DOH through Usec. Leopoldo Vega, inquiring if the institute will be provided funds by the DOH Central Office for the grant of cash equivalent for the MAT benefits to Public Health Workers for the period of September 15, 2020 to December 19, 2020 as represented by RITMEA. (See full story online at manilastandard.net)

HE Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) on Friday released the list of suggested retail prices (SRPs) of “Noche Buena” products for the information and guidance of the consumers as the holiday season nears.

From A1

"We are monitoring -- intently monitoring -- this situation. We continue to conduct our genomic surveillance on the ground," Nograles said in an interview.

He added the government is constantly exchanging information with the World Health Organization about the possible threat of the newly detected variant.

"We are awaiting their advisories if this variant is considered a variant of interest or a variant of concern," Nograles said.

Dana Krizia Sandoval, spokesperson of the Bureau of Immigration, said in another interview that various systems are in place once the IATF sees the need to adjust the travel restrictions caused by emerging COVID-19 variants (see sidebar – Editors).

Earlier Friday, the independent OCTA Research Group called for an escalation of restrictions on South Africa and Botswana amid the detection of a new coronavirus variant that is believed to be more transmissible.

South Africa is currently included in the Philippines' "green list" or nations and jurisdictions considered "low risk" based on the COVID-19 incidence rate and case count.

China...

From A1

seeking common ground while shelving differences,” he added.

Huang said "the giant vessel of ChinaPhilippines friendship will stay on an even keel and sail toward a brighter future" should both countries adhere to the principle of mutual respect.

However, the Philippines will fully exercise its sovereign rights in the West Philippine Sea, Malacañang reiterated on Friday.

Cabinet Secretary and acting presidential spokesperson Karlo Nograles said this in reaction to China's demand for the Philippine government to "honor its commitment" and remove the grounded BRP Sierra Madre in Ayungin Shoal.

"President Duterte has repeatedly reiterated this in various summits, as well as in his speech before the United Nations.

We refer to the UNCLOS and arbitral award that Ayungin is within our EEZ (exclusive economic zone). It is part of our territory and we will fully exercise

Gov‘t...

From A1

But it includes Manila's remaining top10 tourism sources, which include the United States, South Korea, Japan, Australia, Canada, Britain, and Germany.

The list allows the resumption of visa-free travel for short visits of under 30 days to nationals from the 157 countries who already enjoyed permit-free entry to the Philippines before the pandemic began.

"This is really our chance and opportunity to rebound the economy," he added.

Tourism is a major driver of the Southeast Asian country's economy, accounting for nearly 13 percent of gross domestic product in 2019, when more than eight million people visited, official data shows.

That slumped to 5.4 percent last year as tourist arrivals plummeted 82 percent to 1.48 million.

The government has eased virus restrictions in recent weeks as the daily infection rate hovers at the lowest level since the beginning of the year and the nationwide vaccination rate increases.

Around one-third of the country's 110 million people are fully vaccinated.

Frontliners:...

From A1

benefit for the period of September to December 2020.

Among the DOH retained-hospitals, RITM health workers did not receive their budget for their meal, accommodation and transportation (MAT) benefit for the months of September 15 to December 19, 2020.

On December 7, 2020, DOH released Department Order 2020-0759 re: Guidelines for the Release, Utilization, Liquidation and Reporting of Funds to Cover Benefits of Healthcare Workers in Re-

From A1

He told a televised public hearing: "That is our responsibility when it comes to minors. If they cannot wear face masks because they are at a very young age, let us not bring them to closed, crowded places.

Let's not force it.”

Nograles said establishments have a "right, responsibility andobligation" to bar the entry of individuals who cannot or refuse to follow COVID-19 rules, the implementation of which local governments must ensure.

Last week, Metro Manila mayors left possible mobility curbs onchildren up to the inter-agency task force on COVID-19. The task force will reply to NCR authorities in a letter, said Nograles.

Meanwhile, no increase in the number of severe and critical cases admitted in hospitals nationwide over the past days was reported, the Department of Health said.

Health Undersecretary Maria Rosario Vergeire made the remark when asked over the increase of severe and critical cases among the active tally

“Let us patronize products that are ‘Made in the Philippines’ and those (agricultural products) planted in the Philippines. I was watching a news report about groceries, shopping for toys for Christmas, but if you see them, they're all ‘Made in China.’ But our people can make those things, too,” Lacson said.

“Inflation will really rise because when it’s imported, who dictates the prices? Those who manufacture and export (from their countries) to us. But when we are the ones who import our own goods, costs will go down, prices will go down, and inflation will go down,” he added.

Macon Ramos-Araneta (See full story online at manilastandard.net)

Flights...

From A1

countries until Dec. 15 due to the threat of the B.1.1.1529 variant: South Africa, Botswana, Namibia, Zimbabwe, Lesotho, Eswatini, Mozambique "The Bureau of Quarantine, in close coordination with our local government units, has been directed to locate travelers from the abovementioned countries who may have arrived in the recent 7 days prior to the temporary suspension of inbound travel," Cabinet Secretary Karlo Nograles said. (See full story online at manilastandard.net)

Tingog provides vaccines for 500 Laguna seniors

By Maricel V. Cruz TINGOG party-list nominee Jude A. Acidre recently led the group’s free pneumococcal vaccination of more than 500 senior citizen residents of Pagsanjan, Laguna.

This was as Pagsanjan Vice Mayor Maita Ejercito and former Laguna Gov. ER Ejercito made their commitment of support to Tingog Party-list in Laguna.

Tingog Party-list is led by Rep. Yedda Marie K. Romualdez, who chairs the House committee on the welfare of children.

Acidre said the “malasakit” (compassionate) act of Tingog is aimed at boosting the health care services amid the coronavirus disease-19 (COVID-19) pandemic.

“Tingog’s malasakit will continue because we are committed to help the people in our quest to emerge victorious in these uncertain times,” said Acidre, the past national president of Junior Chamber International (JCI) Philippine. (See full story online at manilastandard.net)

117 more public schools joining in-person pilot SOME 117 more public schools will join the pilot implementation of limited face-to-face classes beginning December 6, the Department of Education said Friday.

This is on top of 100 public schools and 18 private schools that have resumed in-person learning so far, Education Undersecretary Nepomuceno Malaluan said on ANC's Headstart.

Of the additional schools, 28 are located in Metro Manila, he said. "(Education) Secretary (Leonor) Briones has already instructed that all schools nationwide should already start administering the school safety assessment and preparing for face-to-face classes in the expanded phase anticipated to be early next year," he added.

In-person classes are limited to 3 hours for kindergarten and 4 hours for higher grades, according to Malaluan.

(See full story online at manilastandard.net)

Borders...

From A1

Around 24,000 more applications are pending.

There are three types of volunteers. The health professionals who will conduct the screening, vaccination, and monitoring of those who will be vaccinated; the data encoders; and the ushers and security.

Health Undersecretary Maria Rosario Vergeire earlier said they need health screeners, vaccinators, post-vaccination monitoring personnel, health educators, registration personnel, data consolidators, and encoders.

Those who are interested in volunteering may scan the QR code or click the link on the official social media accounts of the Department of Health (DOH).

Pharmacist Rosemarie Quinio has volunteered in various vaccination sites to inoculate residents against COVID-19 since August. She did not hesitate to register in the three-day vaccination drive.

“I will be assigned in Manila LGU, maybe in private schools which will serve as vaccination sites, however, I am willing to be designated in other places, even in the province,” Quinio said.

The government seeks to administer 5 million doses daily during the three-day national vaccination campaign, or a total of 15 million people. Willie Casas, Macon Ramos-Araneta and Joel E. Zurbano (See full story online at manilastandard.net)

Tawi-Tawi...

From A1

Engineer Rajiv Nooh Dalagan Amil garnered 93.25% to break for Ateneo the roster of engineering board topnotchers that often went to Mapua Institute of Technology and the University of the Philippines.

Amil’s uncle, Director Omar Khayyam Dalagan of the Technical Skills Development Authority in Zamboanga del Sur, broke the good news for him as the first ever Bangsamoro to have topped the engineering board exams, held in Manila, Baguio, Cagayan de Oro, Cebu, Davao, Iloilo, Legaspi, Lucena, Pagadian, Pampanga, Rosales, Tacloban, Tuguegarao and Zamboanga.

Amil, a graduate of the Ateneo De Davao University, is from Bongao, TawiTawi, and the son of Engineer Nooh Amil of the BARMM Ministry of Public Works Engineering District Office Tawi Tawi, and State Auditor III Maureen Dalagan Amil, CPA of the Commission on Audit in Tawi Tawi. Nash B. Maulana (See full story online at manilastandard.net)

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K9 RETIREES.

IN BRIEF

Presidential Security Group (PSG) Commander Col. Randolph Cabangbang gives recognition to retired explosive detector dogs of the K9 Unit after the dogs served seven years as part of the PSG. The eight K9 dogs of Belgian Malinois breed are now up for adoption.

Solon: Allow Ressa to fly for Nobel Prize HOUSE Deputy Speaker and Cagayan de Oro City Rep. Rufus Rodriguez appealed to President Rodrigo Duterte to allow journalist Maria Ressa to fly to Oslo, Norway to receive the prestigious Nobel Peace Prize.

“I am appealing to President Duterte to reverse the stand of the Office of the Solicitor General (OSG) opposing Ms. Ressa’s request to personally receive the Nobel Peace Prize on Dec. 10,” Rodriguez said.

The OSG has filed its opposition with the Court of Appeals (CA), which is handling the journalist’s appeal of her conviction of the crime of cyber libel by a lower court. The OSG claims Ressa is a flight risk. Maricel V. Cruz

Cops arrest fugitive wanted for murder

CHR probes fatal shooting of teenager

By Rio N. Araja THE Commission on Human Rights has launched a motu proprio investigation into the death of a teenager, who was shot by a police officer on Nov. 20 in a heated altercation.

“Law enforcement officials, in carrying out their duty, shall, as far as possible, apply non-violent means before resorting to the use of force and firearms,” spokesperson Jacqueline Ann de Guia said, citing the Basic Principles on the Use of Force and Firearms by Law Enforcement Officials as adopted by the United Nations Congress on the Prevention of Crime and the Treatment of Offenders.

Police Corporal Alvin Pastorin was charged with homicide for killing a 19-year-old quarantine violator in Pampanga. The victim was identified as Abelardo Vasquez.

Under the Philippine National Police (PNP) revised operational procedures, the use of excessive force or the indiscriminate use of firearms is categorically prohibited.

“And should it be necessary, warning must be first issued and the force to be employed should only be to neutralize resistance and subdue clear and imminent danger,” De Guia said.

“Pending the results of the investigation, we continue to urge our law enforcers to always exercise maximum tolerance and patience in dealing with situations of peace and order. Use of excessive force which is unwarranted and not proportional to the violation committed is prohibited by the PNP operational procedures and must be dealt with accordingly,” De Guia Senators Ronald “Bato” Dela Rosa meanwhile proposed that in the event that indiscriminate firing occurs involving a cop, the police commander of the area of the incident must also be reprimanded.

‘Zero tolerance needed to curb mobile text scams’

By Macon Ramos-Araneta

T

HE government should adopt a zero-tolerance policy against text scams, Senator Joel Villanueva said.

The lawmaker also said that the “next great pyramid” will be built on the foundation of stolen data of cellphone and internet users.”

“We should be prepared for that. As they said, there are more pyramids in the Philippines than in Egypt. While the pyramids here eventually come crashing down, many soon rise to replace them,” Villanueva said.

He was referring to get-rich-quick Ponzi schemes, or illegal chain distribution plans, which promise high returns on investments, but in fact, are drawn from money put in by new recruits.

Ako’y Pilipino party-list nominee

Ronnie Ong has pushed for the creation of a special task force that will investigate spam texts.

Ong particularly is also urging the Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT), the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI), and the Data Privacy Commission to launch a deeper probe on the sudden surge of text spams that scammed hundreds of unsuspecting victims.

For Villanueva, “the next pyramid builders will no longer rely on word-ofmouth marketing. They will use digital recruitment to lure victims. We should

avoid this Pyramid scam version 2.0,” As the country reels from the pandemic-fueled high employment and underemployment rates, Villanueva fears that job seekers are a huge market for scammers.

The unemployment rate in September 2021 reached 8.9%, which is about 4.25 million jobless workers.

Desperate people have always been the target clientele of scammers, he said. Villanueva called on the government to be wary of “data brokers” who sell personal data of consumers.

“This is why “smishing” should be given no quarters by the government, Villanueva pointed out, referring to the cybercrime of sending messages to induce recipients to reveal personal information,l further stated Villanueva.

MARCOS LOYALIST.

A lone Marcos loyalist approaches the group of protesters led by the Campaign Against the Return of the Marcoses and Martial Law (CARMMA) as members of the group troop to the Commission on Elections headquarters in Intramuros, Manila.

Norman Cruz

Police nab 2 suspects, seize P54.7m worth of shabu in Caloocan

By Jun David

POLICE arrested two high-value drug personalities in Caloocan City and seized more than P54.7 million worth of illegal drugs in a buy-bust operation.

According to PMaj. Amor Cerillo, it was around 12:30 am when the Northern Police District - District Drug

Enforcement Unit (NPD- DDEU) personnel conducted a buy-bust operation inside the Monaliza Lodge located at #4 Don Vicente Ang, Brgy.

136, Bagong Barrio, of the said city.

The suspects were identified as Ali Usman y Balangcawan, male, 38 yrs old, married, tricycle driver and presently residing at P. Casal St., Quiapo Manila;

Pangasinan execs laud Bong Go for aid MANGALDAN, Pangasinan- Vice Governor Mark DG. Lambino expressed his gratitude to Senator Christopher Lawrence “Bong” Go for his intercession to the P10million fund that benefitted around 10,000 individuals from 13 municipalities of Pangasinan.

In his letter to Go, the vice governor reported that beneficiaries received P1,000 each through the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) Assistance to Individuals in Crisis Situation (AICS) program.

“With your endless support and benevolence, we are able to provide fi-

nancial assistance for the less-fortunate people of Pangasinan which is really a great help for them especially in this time of pandemic,” he stated.

Lambino also requested Go to look for additional funds to help more individuals in crisis situation from the remaining municipalities and cities of Pangasinan.

Lambino said Go was instrumental to the delivery of hundreds of thousands of COVID-19 vaccines to the 44 towns and 4 cities of Pangasinan, aside from the numerous health assistance he already extended through the Malasakit Center.

and Von Emil Flores y Gamutia, male, 37 years old, single, motorcycle mechanic, and presently residing along Governor Pascual, Brgy. Niugan, Malabon City.

Recovered from the suspects were: a piece of medium heat-sealed transparent plastic sachet containing an undetermined amount of white crystalline substance suspected to be methamphetamine

hydrochloride locally known as shabu; eight pieces large Chinese teabags containing shabu; a piece plastic of shabu; buy-bust money; and a one-kilo bag.

The confiscated illegal drugs have an estimated total weight of more or less 8,055 grams with a standard street value amounting to P54.7 million. With Joel E. Zurbano

CAMP OLIVAS, Pampanga – A 60year old man with a standing murder case in Zambales court was arrested by authorities on Friday after six years in hiding in a remote village in Barangay Batiawan, Subic, Zambales.

Felimon Duero did not resist arrest when cornered by policemen in his shanty at Sitio Malipano, some 15 kilometers away from Subic town.

Armed with warrant of arrest, the arresting team led by Regional Intelligence Unit 3 (RIU3) and local police there assaulted the supposed hideout of Duero that ended into the fugitive surrender, said BGen Matthew Baccay, the director of Central Luzon police. Jess Malabanan

Navotas unveils new parks, giant Xmas tree MAYOR Toby Tiangco and Congressman John Rey Tiangco Monday led the inauguration of various facilities in Navotas and the lighting of the city’s giant Christmas tree.

Navotas formally opened the Pescador and Green Zone parks located at barangays Bangkulasi and North Bay Boulevard North (NBBN), respectively.

The city also inaugurated the NBBN Elementary School MultiPurpose Hall. Jun David

La Union RTC to hear appeal on Ongpin case

By Rey E. Requejo

THE La Union regional trial court is set to hold hearing on Dec. 3 on the motion filed by the Department of Justice (DOJ) seeking a reversal of the court’s decision dismissing the illegal possession of drugs case filed against Julian Roberto Ongpin, son of billionaire businessman and former trade and industry minister Roberto V. Ongpin.

Prosecutor General Benedicto Malcontento said on Friday the hearing was sought by the DOJ prosecutors in the motion that was filed last Thursday, Nov. 25.

“If allowed by the court, the panel (of prosecutors) will present evidence in support of the motion,” Malcontento said. A copy of the motion was not immediately available.

Last November 15, Judge Romeo E. Agacita Jr. of RTC, Branch 27, in San Fernando City, La Union issued an order that dismissed the case against Julian for alleged possession of dangerous drugs in violation of Republic Act No. 9165 or the Comprehensive Dangerous Drugs Act of 2012. Agacita also ordered the lifting of the precautionary hold departure order (PHDO) that prevented Julian from leaving the country.

CHRISTMAS BAZAAR.

Navotas City Mayor Toby Tiangco, Congressman John Rey Tiangco, and other officials led the opening of Christmas Bazaar 2021 at the Navotas City Walk and Amphitheater.

Andrew Rabulan

A4

Cebu MSMEs back tandem of BBM-Sara for ‘22 polls

SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 27, 2021

Lacson to crack whip on rogue police, military

By Macon Ramos-Araneta A POLICY of discipline, backed by the use of body cameras, will be the answer of the Lacson administration in stopping extrajudicial killings and other abuses by rogue members of the Philippine National Police and the Armed Forces of the Philippines.

“One word: Discipline. We will ensure discipline in our uniformed services,” presidential aspirant Sen. Panfilo Lacson said.

“Abuses start when discipline is lost in the Philippine National Police, Armed Forces of the Philippines and uniformed services,” he added.

Lacson said the discipline-based policy has worked before, particularly when he won back the people’s trust in the PNP when he headed it from 1999 to 2001 with his no-nonsense “leadership by example” approach.

He also said one tool that would help prevent abuses is the use of body cameras by police personnel to ensure transparency in their operations.

“On the spot, you will see if the police committed violations. But that is also for the defense of police accused of abuses,” he said.

He said he will not allow the mentality of some rogue police personnel to manipulate evidence, stressing the need to keep the trust of the people, especially in far-flung areas where the only representative of the government is the police officer.

“We will not allow that. It is important to restore trust in our uniformed personnel,” he said.

Earlier, the Partido Reporma standardbearer vowed to put an end to the proliferation of “ninja cops” who continue to taint the image of the PNP. “The approach of the government in pursuing its war on drugs was mostly focused on law enforcement, and that is the reason why the scalawags have escalated,” Lacson said.

Ninja cops refer to members of the PNP who recycle and sell illegal drugs confiscated or seized during police operations.

STRENGTH IN NUMBERS. Vice Presidential Candidate and Lakas-CMD party chairperson Sara Duterte-Carpio, assisted by House Majority Leader and Lakas-CMD party president Martin Romualdez, administers the oath taking of new party members Liloan, Cebu Mayor Christina Garcia-Frasco and her husband, 5th District Rep. Duke Frasco in Cebu City. Ver Noveno

News

Increase teacher’s pay for poll work—DepEd

T

HE Department of Education is seeking an increase in the honoraria of teachers who will serve as poll workers in the May 2022 elections.

“Although it is less than our proposed increase for our teachers who will serve as poll workers, we appreciate the adjusted rates, and we will coordinate with Comelec for a possible increase of the honoraria and other allowances and benefits,” Secretary Leonor Briones said.

The Comelec released its approved

new honoraria and allowances for the members of the electoral board (EB) and other poll workers on Nov. 10. The rates, however, were below DepEd’s proposed remuneration.

In June, the department prescribed the following honoraria rates – P9,000 for chairpersons; P8,000 for electoral board members; P7,000 for DepEd su-

pervisor officials (DESO); and P5,000 for support staff.

Health insurance coverage for those who will be infected with the virus was also requested, as well as other benefits such as on-site swab testing, shifting, and working hours of public school teachers in the electoral board, tax exemption, among others.

But the Comelec approved only the following rates: chairperson of the electoral board, P7,000; electoral board members, P6,000; DESO, P5,000; and support staff, P3,000.

Go’s party backs Sara’s veep bid, PDP’s senatorial slate

By Macon Ramos-Araneta THE Pederalismo ng Dugong Dakilang Samahan will back the vice presidential bid of Davao City Mayor Sara DuterteCarpio as well as the senatorial slate of PDP-Laban in next year’s elections.

“Bong Go is our president, Mayor Sara is our vice president, and we will

adopt the Senate slate of PDP-Laban of (Energy) Secretary Alfonso Cusi,” PDDS national adviser Greco Belgica said Friday.

The presidential daughter, who is running under Lakas-CMD, is the running mate of former Sen. Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr., the standard bearer of the Partido Federal ng Pilipinas.

Belgica expressed confidence that Go will not withdraw from the presidential race, despite the senator admitting Thursday it might not be his time yet to lead the country.

“He just said he leaves it to God. He believes in Divine Providence,” said Belgica.

Cusi, for his part, said Go was “just being honest.”

MORE than 50 small and medium entrepreneurs from Cebu who tried to keep their businesses afloat during the pandemic threw their full support behind the BBM-SARA Uniteam during a simple ceremony in Mandaue City Friday morning.

The Businessmen ng Bayan Movement of the Philippines (BBM), led by their president Benjie Hortelano, expressed optimism that the business climate will recover after the debilitating pandemic under a Marcos administration.

Both presidential aspirant former Sen. Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. and vice presidential bet Davao City Mayor Sara Duterte-Carpio continued to lead all formal and random surveys nationwide.

Marcos thanked his supporters and reminded them that the recent nationwide “unity ride” caravan held last week symbolizes the Filipinos’ readiness to rally behind his leadership.

“The caravan was not only a display of support for my candidacy but it was also symbolic because it fosters unity,” he told the Cebu-based businessmen.

The Partido Federal ng Pilipinas standard-bearer also acknowledged the effort of the business group and the business sector, in general, because they also bore the brunt of the economic burden at the height of the pandemic.

“I cannot repay you for all your sacrifices by merely expressing my gratitude. Let us continue what we have started positively towards unity to enable us to overcome the crisis that we are facing,” Marcos said.

As this developed, the MarcosDuterte-Carpio tandem vowed to prioritize policies intended to revive and achieve a healthier environment.

“When disaster strikes, it is the poor, the people least responsible for the destruction of the environment, who suffer the most,” the BBM-Sara Uniteam said in a statement.

“The Philippines is now experiencing severe environmental degradation — mainly in the form of deforestation, soil erosion, disruption of hydrological systems, over-exploitation of fisheries, destruction of coral reefs, and extinction of species.”

Opinion The people’s campaign is that people who do not personally know each other respond, share resources, and work together on this campaign.

Some of the “fiercest” campaigners of VP Leni I know were former DDS. I asked a few why and they said, “Bumabawi dahil sa laki ng utang sa bayan.” Indeed, more and more are waking up.

People know that I am for VP Leni and many from different parts of the country have been asking for campaign paraphernalia. I crowd-sourced on Facebook and Twitter and several people responded and sent me a decent volume which, in turn, I sent to provinces. This truly is cooperation.

The campaign on social media rages.

When #kakampinks realized that Tiktok is heavily dominated by supporters and trolls of the dictator’s son, not a few opened accounts, created and continue to create content, and are now campaigning strongly for Robredo using the platform.

Volunteers organize themselves on their own on a per-area basis. I have yet to find a group of volunteers that is directly organized by, or connected with the actual group of VP Leni. We have seen this in how the pink caravans are organized, the mushrooming of #LeniLugaw stalls organized by homeowners and neighborhood associations offering free lugaw to anyone and everyone who wants to eat the dish. Even ordinary people in communities have been organizing #LeniLugaw stalls for the benefit of their neighbors and friends.

Doctors have never been this invested in electoral campaigns. Perhaps this is because they have experienced firsthand how an inefficient and ineffective government can harm people’s health and even kill a lot of doctors. They are in the frontlines of fighting COVID-19, they lost too many from their rank, so they know fully well how bad governance can hurt the country.

Doctors come up with creative ways of campaigning from the subtle tactics to the most overt ones. They offer their services for free for VP Leni’s COVID-19-related projects. Many also produce Leni materials for distribution by others. I once, by chance, overheard part of the campaign meeting of doctors and the passion was palpable.

A group of lawyers is also involved in producing campaign materials. As part of their fundraising for the campaign, some are now selling pink Christmas lanterns. This way, they are able to support the small producers and raise some funds. Those small pink parol hanging from houses and trees may very well be from this initiative.

VP Leni said, “Mas radikal ang magmahal” as she admonished #Kakampinks to not fight against those belonging to other camps but do good to others. Robredo is not only leading a decent campaign for the presidency, she also inspires people to do good and be kind. Indeed, “mas radikal ang magmahal.”

The kind of campaign that VP Leni is running should scare her opponents. Instead of the candidate spending for the campaign, it is the people who are investing in a Robredo presidency. This campaign is from the people’s hearts and cannot be bought. This is the people’s campaign.

THE volunteer-driven campaign for Vice-President Leni Robredo’s presidential bid is nothing like anything we have seen in previous elections. Hers is truly a people’s campaign.

Filipinos know that the VP does not have the financial and even material resources to mount and sustain a national campaign. She is also without the organizational machinery enjoyed and used by the present administration. A lesser candidate would have balked and refused to face this seemingly insurmountable challenge. But Leni Robredo is made of sterner stuff.

When she said, “Lalaban ako, lalaban tayo” as she announced her decision to run for president, she galvanized people to action.

VP Leni knew that despite the odds, if the people are with her, the lack of resources and machinery is not without solutions. From day one, she was clear, this is not just her fight, this is the people’s fight.

This is the fight of our lives.

The people saw hope to turn the country’s situation around with Robredo at the helm.

They responded and continue to respond to fill the gap in all types of resources. The people understand how high the stakes are for this election. It can be said that for VP Leni personally, this may just be another election and if she loses, she will just have to go back to being a private citizen.

However, if the Filipino electorate makes the same mistake like they did in 2016, what we possibly will have is another six years similar to the Duterte regime. The country and the people cannot afford this anymore. The Philippines is in a precarious situation especially because of the COVID-19 pandemic that has so far afflicted 2.83 million and killed nearly 48,000 Filipinos.

Poverty has worsened and has become widespread because of the loss of jobs and livelihood as businesses and enterprises continue to suffer.

The economy is in a very bad shape. Worse, our territories in the West Philippine Sea remain occupied by China.

The grave mistake in 2016 must never happen again. This is the reason why people are working doubly hard for a Robredo presidency. This is no ordinary fight. This is the fight of our lives.

I have never seen a campaign where people willingly volunteer their time, talent, and resources freely. Artists and graphic designers come up with Leni and Kiko campaign material designs for free and post the same for anyone to use. Using available designs, people spend their own money to produce tarpaulins, stickers, comics, ballers, shirts, fans, bags, and other paraphernalia. They then distribute these for free.

Some pool financial resources on social media to be able to produce materials in bulk so prices are lower. What is amazing

@bethangsioco on Twitter; Elizabeth Angsioco on Facebook

Filipino marespeto; safe spaces, kasali tayo Message of the Philippine Commission on Women on the 18-Day Campaign to End Violence Against Women IN A community where respect thrives, we can ensure and secure safe spaces for all.

As the Philippine Commission on Women (PCW) leads the 2021 18-Day Campaign to End Violence Against Women (VAW), we zero in on a pervasive type of violence: gender-based sexual harassment (GBSH).

GBSH comes in various forms: an intrusive gaze, a catcall, a remark, an online comment or message, which may be downplayed by some as “maliit na bagay” or even pass it up as a “compliment”. But for victims, these come across as offensive, threatening, and intimidating. Sometimes, harassment progresses from verbal to physical such as flashing, groping, stalking, or even to the worst types of sexual violence.

These acts can affect the victim physically, mentally, emotionally, psychologically, from serious headaches and heart burns to triggered anxiety, depression, fear, anger, and trauma.

Despite these harmful effects, sexual harassment still exists, driven by the flawed sense of entitlement over women and girls, macho culture, and disrespect to other genders. A 2016 Social Weather Stations survey shows that three in five women have experienced sexual harassment at least once in their lifetime. The COVID-19 pandemic did not cushion the blow, but in fact, exacerbated the prevalence of sexual harassment, especially in the digital realm. Plan International’s survey, “Free to be online? Girls’ and young women’s experiences of online harassment”, reports that sixty-eight percent (68%) of girls and young women in the Philippines have experienced online harassment on social media.

In this year’s campaign, the PCW underscores that these acts of sexual harassment have

no place in the VAW-free community that we envision and we have long advocated for. We highlight that these acts are unacceptable and are already penalized under the Safe Spaces Act (Republic Act 11313). Enacted on April 17, 2019, the law took effect on August 3 of the same year. It expanded the definition of sexual harassment in the Philippine law to cover acts of GBSH whether verbal, nonverbal, or physical. The coverage of the law is not only limited to schools and workplaces since it also covers public spaces such as public transportation, commercial establishments, and even online.

Authority, influence, or moral ascendancy by the perpetrators over their victims is likewise not required for the sexual harassment to be classified as a crime under RA 11313. This means that our law now recognizes and penalizes as criminal acts GBSH among peers, by a subordinate to a superior, or by mere strangers.

The PCW, as one of the agencies tasked to monitor the implementation of the law and lead the national awareness campaign on the same, calls for a whole-of-society approach in ensuring safe spaces for everyone. We encourage the agencies with mandates under the law to be true and committed to their responsibilities therein, issuing the appropriate guidelines, strengthening mechanisms in place to prevent and address sexual harassment, enforcing sanctions, training staffers or duty bearers, conducting necessary inspections, and making appropriate services availableandaccessible. Wecountonlocalgovernmentunitstolocalizethelawandcustom-fit the same in the realities on the ground, guided by the Joint Memorandum Circular on the Localization of the Safe Spaces Act, and ensure that it is carried out with fervor.

We appeal to employers and heads of schools and training institutions to set up and/or embolden their Committee on Decorum and Investigation so victims of GBSH, regardless of their

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SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 27, 2021

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EDITORIAL

Science-based decision making

D

ECISION makers in the pandemic zone, whatever lockdown levels there may be, properly need prevalence estimates to determine the right moves to check the coronavirus that has killed thousands and infected millions.

technical knowledge of test performance, as measured in published trials; institutional knowledge of how tests are actually conducted and reported; and the analytical ability to make sense of that confused picture.

It would be a source of comfort.

This is a tall order for the Department of Health and the Inter-Agency Task Force for Emerging Infectious Diseases, which have been on the front line in this battle to contain this public health emergency.

We know they have stood up and been closely monitoring COVID-19 as from mid-March last year, when the pandemic stormed into the country’s shores, forcing the government to quickly impose basic health protocols to check the spread of infections and deaths.

Getting prevalence estimates requires

These prevalence estimates don’t need to be perfect, just good enough to allow policy-makers—in this case the government, through the Department of Health and the IATF—to make better decisions.

Decision-makers must rely on science in various fields: virology, immunology, clinical medicine, epidemiology and public health.

Undoubtedly, the COVID-19 pandemic poses difficult interdependent decisions for professionals and the pa-

tients they serve.

They must answer questions like: When should malls, clinics, schools, salons, meat-packing plants, movie theaters, and other entities open? When should they close because of proven, possible, or perceived problems? When should they be reopened? And under what conditions?

Individuals must answer complementary questions. When is it safe enough to visit a physician’s clinic, get a dental or a dermatologist or ophthalmologist check-up, shop for clothing, ride the bus, visit kin, or go to the gym?

What does it mean that some areas are under Alert Level 1 or 2 and some places are in granular lockdowns?

How do people make sense of conflicting advisory on the use of face masks and face shields among basic protocols being implemented?

It would be a source of great comfort to know that the guidelines we follow are not arbitrary, but have basis in science.

Duterte either wants to be a kingmaker or remain president PEOPLE who value decency did not expect that the man who holds the title of president and addressed to as His Excellency would take the level of besmirching his political enemies in favor of Senator Bong Go in a political charade played by Duterte himself. What he is doing to Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos, Jr. are things that do not only fall under the category of malicious innuendoes but one amounting to intimidating the political rival of his subaltern.

The seemingly invincible tandem between the president and Senator Bong Go not only came out with fantastic gossip but bad mouthed their political rivals. All for the sake of Bong Go, appropriately tagged as “running dog” by many, Duterte has become a kingmaker.

When Digong sounded out that one presidential candidate is a cocaine user, it was his subaltern who first presented himself to a drug test. It was a political stunt made by a lapdog.

He did not bother to analyze whether it was he being alluded to by the President.

There has yet to be identified as a suspect.

Only the knee-jerk candidates from the Left demanded that BBM submit himself to a drug test. Nonetheless, BBM submitted himself to a drug test just to close the brouhaha alluded to by the loquacious President.

Nonetheless, to point a finger at a person as a drug user, the accuser must give grounds why he must submit himself to a drug test. These are the circumstances before a person can submit himself to a drug test. It is not the use of drugs that is being determined but the antecedent crime committed after the use of drugs.

Without the circumstances to suspect the person is a drug user, nobody can just point to any Tom, Dick and Harry as a drug suspect.

Any person unjustly labeled as a drug user has every right not to submit himself to a drug test.

He is also entitled to his privacy.

Digong and his subaltern should have known that a person is required to undergo a drug test not because the authorities want to know if he is a drug user, but to confirm the fact that there is a valid reason for the issuance of a warrant of arrest. And even on that basis, there has to be proximate evidence that one is a drug user. It cannot be subject to the whims of one demanding that a person be subjected to a drug test. Unfortunately, all presidential candidates voluntarily underwent a drug test.

They all appeared like clowns as if to convince the electorate they are clean.

Another, is the suspicion that the President is trying to create a rift between his daughter Sara and BBM. Should he succeed, it will be Digong and Bong Go that will benefit from the lousy intrigue. Digong was not really mad

at Sara by choosing BBM as his running mate.

He is mad because he was the one that was technically unseated by his own game plan.

Many could read that he wanted Sara to run for president with him running as vice president.

But when Sara opted to run for vice president, it was he who was deprived of the seat.

He cannot run against his own daughter.

Their expectation of making a clean sweep was unexpectedly derailed by the BBM-Sara tandem. BBM and Sara cannot be blamed for what happened. The two were too secretive of their plans they thought was an air-tight strategy to capture the 2022 presidential election.

status, will have faith in the grievance process.

We look forward to inclusive, age-appropriate, and culturally-sensitive educational modules and consultations on the law. We trust that private institutions will unite with us in this advocacy by putting in place procedures and protocols in receiving GBSH complaints and being responsive to reports. The PCW relies on everyone to make sure that we give life to the letters of the law, so every Juana and Juan will feel safe wherever they may be.

For the public, we must all take part in protecting spaces from gender-based sexual harassment. While we strive for the proper implementation of the law, may it bring about a change of mindset, gaining perspective that catcalling is not okay, that sexual jokes may be unwelcome, sending lewd messages is wrong, and making sexual advances on a workmate, boss, student, or teacher is already penalized.

During this COVID-19 pandemic, may we en-

sure that our spaces are not only safe from the virus, but also from all forms of human rights violations like VAW and GBSH. As quarantine restrictions ease up and we gradually reclaim our spots in public spaces, let us all pursue a VAW-free community where all people are comfortable to walk on the streets, where they are treated with utmost respect in cyberspace, and where our work, learning, and leisure environments do not tolerate any form of violence or sexual harassment.

In this community, respect defeats discrimination, gender-based stereotypes, and violence. In this community, we all take part and benefit from safe spaces. In this community, respect, human dignity, and inclusiveness take center stage, positive masculinity reigns, and sexism and misogyny have no place.

Maging kabahagi tayo sa pagbuo ng komunidad na lahat ay ligtas at walang harassed.

Dahil ikaw, ako, at ang Pilipino ay marespeto kaya sa Safe Spaces, Kasali Tayo

Former Chief Justice Reynato S. Puno Anita F. Grefal Baldwin R. Felipe Edgar M. Valmorida

What is he doing?

Digong is a fickle-minded politician. He can become one’s worst enemy should he suspect one is crossing his path. But all his ranting against the communists and against the indolent Aquino administration, he has proven himself to be more generous and accommodating to the communists. In fact, the so-called martial law victims received their compensation during the time of his administration. Aquino purposely delayed the giving of funds until after the hypocritical Digong administration came to power and started to dole out those public funds taken from the taxpayers’ money.

Many Filipinos see the claim for compensation as prurient. The martial law imposed

by Marcos has long been resolved as valid and constitutional by our Supreme Court. The drumming up of compensation is a result of a criminal conspiracy hatched by the leader and founder of the CPP who it seems was goaded by adventurism to pursue their psychotic revolution. It was not only the innocent civilians who suffered but also a number of our soldiers trying to put order to our society which they prejudged as authoritarian and dictatorial.

Lawlessness and chaos preceded the declaration of martial law culminating in the bombing of Plaza Miranda where the entire leadership of the Liberal Party was decimated.

Sison and his fanatical cohorts then proceeded to spread the word that it was Marcos who masterminded the bombing. To totally prevent the public from learning about it, Sison and his gang arrested the grenade thrower and executed him for trumped-up charges in their Kangaroo Court in Isabela. Jovito Salonga admitted that the NPA executed Danny Cordero somewhere in the hinterlands of Isabela.

Many well-meaning opposition leaders knew blood was already being spilled from the

Board Member & Chief Legal Adviser Treasury Manager Head—Ad Solutions Circulation Manager

hands of the masterminds of the so-called “revolution for liberation.” When the bloodthirsty adventurers realized that their war for national liberation was going nowhere, they began a campaign in the early 80’s, for an ideological cleansing by liquidating fellow communist cadres suspected of being deep penetration agents of the government. Thousands were summarily killed and buried alive as traitors by the communist party leadership led by Sison. The US, it seems, redesigned the communist propaganda to purposely target Marcos as their new enemy.

Events coincided with the realignment of ideological forces. From thereon, Sison and his gang distanced themselves from the so-called pro-Beijing bloc. That proved to be advantageous to the US and to the local communist headed by Sison. Seldom did our people know that the Liberal Party enthroned to power in 1986 centered on the atrocities of Marcos. The first thing Sison and his gang did was to organize the body that will ensure the payment of compensation including those they butchered as DPAs. To firmly control this, they created the Human Rights Commission to oversee the giving of compensation, ignoring altogether that many were killed including the solders doing the job in quelling their murderous adventurism.

The granting of compensation was with the blessing of the US, the CIA and the State Department, setting aside the countless number of comrades they killed. This is why Sison is branded by many as the county’s upstart Pol Pot for he summarily killed more than a thousand innocent student activists and farmers who have no idea of the bloodthirsty nature of the organization they joined. The husband and wife, Jose Ma. Sison and Julieta De Lima, each received P1.4 million.

Receiving compensation and calling oneself a hero contradicts the very definition of patriotism.

This explains why they worked hard to control the human rights commission to ensure the release of funds so that the party would be able to siphon a greater portion of the funds. All these happened because the US has an axe to grind against Marcos. Defrocking Marcos as a hero would help tone the suspicion that the bankrupt empire would sponsor a new hero for them. rpkapunan@gmail.com

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AS SOUTH AFRICA DETECTS NEW COVID STRAIN

Europe rushes to boost virus defense T HE HAGUE—Governments across Europe rushed on Friday to bolster their defenses against a fresh coronavirus spike, as South Africa announced it had detected a new Covid-19 strain that scientists fear could torpedo efforts to beat the pandemic.

we have encountered to date and urgent research is under way to learn more about its transmissibility, severity and vaccinesusceptibility,” Britain’s health agency chief Jennie Harries said in a statement.

Dutch riot fears Ahead of Thursday’s announcement by scientists in South Africa, countries across Europe were already accelerating booster campaigns, enforcing stricter curbs and targeting the unvaccinated as cases multiplied to record levels.

Authorities in the Netherlands were preparing for new riots ahead of an expected announcement Friday by Prime Minister Mark Rutte to tighten a partial lockdown as it faces a critical hospital bed shortage with infections reaching record levels.

The country has suffered four straight days of anti-lockdown unrest, led by people Rutte described as “idiots”, the worst in the port city of Rotterdam where po-

lice opened fire on rioters, injuring five.

“We are keeping our eyes and ears open, and we are prepared,” Rotterdam police spokesman Gijs van Nimwegen told AFP. Germany, the Czech Republic and Portugal—which has one of the world’s highest vaccination rates—all announced new measures in recent days to stem the tide of infections that has been worse than feared.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel issued an urgent warning to the country’s incoming government on Thursday, saying “every day counts” as the country’s death toll passed 100,000.

Europe is stepping up its vaccination drive to beat back rising cases ahead of the encroaching winter.

On Thursday, France made booster shots available to all adults and the European Union’s medicines agency has approved jabs for five- to 11-year-olds. AFP

Furious France scraps meet on migrant trips after UK gaffe

PARIS—France on Friday scrapped planned talks with the UK about migrant crossings in anger at a letter by Britain’s prime minister over the crisis, pushing relations to new lows folIn recent weeks the continent has lowing the deaths of 27 people in the N OTICE been in the throes of surging cases Channel this week.

Notice is hereby given that HAUSPLUS VENTURES, and violent riots, wrestling with Interior Minister Gerald DarmaINC., with office address at Suite 1103-Annapolis booster programmes and dramatic nin told UK counterpart Priti Patel Wilshire Plaza, 11 Annapolis St., Greenhills, San Juan, Metro Manila, is applying for registration with the Board she was no longer invited to talks at lockdowns to stem the tide as its of Investments (BOI) as a new developer of economic and low-cost housing project (Villano Ville 1 Butterfly the weekend about the migrant crisis death toll surpassed 1.5 million and it Subdivision) with a capacity of 221 house and lot units in the Channel with other European once again became the global epicenunder R.A. 11534 (CREATE Act) and the Preferred ListMass Housing of the 2020 IPP with project site located ministers. ter of an unceasing pandemic. at Brgy. Francisco Homes-Guijo, San Jose del Monte, The meeting was set to go ahead Bulacan Scientists are now racing to underwithout any UK presence, prompting stand the impact of the new, heavily Any person with valid objection/s on the abovementioned project may file his/her objection in writing, London to demand France reconsider mutated strain, feared to be more inunder oath, with the BOI within three (3) days from the date the snub. of this publication. fectious than Delta, which brought The row puts London and Paris at (SGD.) ANGELITA F. ARCELLANA the world back to its knees a year afDirector odds when they are searching for a ter the virus first surfaced in central Infrastructure and Services Industries Service coordinated response to the worst miChina. grant tragedy in the Channel.

“This is the most significant variant It has added to a litany of postBrexit problems between Britain and CYAN MAGENTA YELLOW BLACK France, with French fishermen on FriNOTICE TO THE PUBLIC day due to stage a blockade of ChanThe public is informed that, pursuant to the Memorandum nel ferry ports and stop freight enterfrom the Executive Secretary dated 26 November 2013 with the ing the Channel Tunnel in protest over subject “Abolition of the Philippine Forest Corporation (PFC)”, PFC fishing licences. is hereby abolished and its assets shall be liquidated to settle its In a message seen by AFP, Darmaoutstanding liabilities in accordance with applicable laws, rules, nin told Patel the letter from Johnson and regulations. to President Emmanuel Macron sugAccordingly, all creditors or any interest individual or entity gesting France take back migrants which has a claim against PFC may file a Notice of Claim on or who cross the Channel was a “disapbefore December 31, 2021, addressed to: pointment.”

Referring to Johnson’s posting of Attention: USEC. ANALIZA REBUELTA-TEH the letter on social media, he added: Acting President/Caretaker – PFC “Making it public made it even worse.

Office of the Undersecretary for Finance, I therefore need to cancel our meeting Information Systems and Climate Change in Calais on Sunday.”

DENR, Visayas Ave., Quezon City A source close to Darmanin told All Notices of Claim filed after December 31, 2021 shall no AFP that Sunday’s meeting would be longer be included and acted upon in the on-going liquidation going ahead with the ministers from proceedings. other European countries but added Patel was noYELLOW longer invited after JohnCYAN MAGENTA BLACK son’s letter.

Manila “We consider the British Prime Standard NOTICE TO THE PUBLIC Minister’s public letter to be unacTODAY ceptable and contrary to the discusIn accordance with the NTC guidelines, here`s the mechanics for DITO REWARDS PROGRAM sions we had with our counterparts,” said the source, who asked not to be “DITO Rewards Program” is a loyalty program of DITO Telecommunity that named. grants rewards, discounts, and privileges to its subscribers in accordance “Therefore, Priti Patel is no longer with their value, tenure, and membership. (“Program”) invited to the interministerial meeting Active subscribers of DITO Telecommunity are entitled to receive reward on Sunday, which is maintained in the points and, of the benefits and privileges pursuant to this Program. No DYING AT SEA. Libyan health workers recover bodies of drowned migrants, who were hoping to format of France, Belgium, the Nethregistration or application is required. travel to Europe by sea, after a shipwreck off the beach in Sabratha, some 120 kilometres west of the erlands, Germany and the European Libyan capital Tripoli, on November 25. AFP Subscribers can perform the following transactions with DITO Rewards (1) Commission.”AFP Query of points balance;(2) Check of points history such as earning and (MS-NOV. 27, 2021)

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usage; (3) View rewards catalog and redeemable items using DITO APP; (4) Use of points-as-cash to purchase rewards offers, and; (5) Giftingpoints to another DITO subscriber.

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Data Allocation Validity Points Requirement 500MB 30 days 15 DITO points 1GB 30 days 30 DITO points 3GB 30 days 90 DITO points 5GB 30 days 150 DITO points 2. APP Data Access- Data access bundled to a specific OTT service (eg 500MB, 1GB, 3GB, 5GB for chosen OTT that is available in Rewards Catalog) Data Allocation Data Pack Validity Points Requirement 500MB APP of your 30 days 10 DITO points choice (available in the roster of APP partners in Rewards Catalog) 30 days 20 DITO points 1GB 3GB 30 days 60 DITO points Peer-to-Peer Transfer of Gifting of Points Subscribers can share points with another DITO subscriber. They can sharea minimum of 1 pointto any valid and active DITO subscriber.Note the following sharing business rules: 1.

2.

3.

4.

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Subscribers can share a minimum of 1 point and no maximum limit.

Sharing of non-integer point is not allowed.

No transaction fee per share will be charge to the sender.

No limit on the number of sharing transaction.

Sender can only transfer a point to an active DITO subscriber.

Points with shorter validity will be shared first when a subscriber share a point.

7. Points expiration date shall follow the original expiration date.

Expiration of Points All earned points are valid for 12 months upon credit. Points with shorter validity will be consumed first when a subscriber redeems a reward or share a point. Points will expire every last day of the month.

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2.

Earn the points on November 1, 2021 → Expires November 30, 2022.

Earn the points November 16, 2021 → Expires November 30, 2022

Subscribers will also receive a notification through SMS and DITO APP notification for the expiring points.

(MS-NOV. 27, 2021)

Japan defense ministry seeks record $6.7-b extra budget TOKYO—Japan’s defense ministry said Friday it would seek a record $6.7 billion additional spending this financial year to speed up purchases of military equipment, citing the “increasingly severe” regional security environment.

Noting challenges posed by China and North Korea, the ministry said the regional security situation was becoming “increasingly severe at an unprecedented speed.”

Japan’s military budget has been rising steadily for about a decade and the ministry has already put in a request for next financial year worth $50 billion, maintaining record spending.

But Friday’s request seeks to add 773.8 billion yen ($6.7 billion) in a supplementary budget for spending through March 2022, up from the record set in the year ending March 2020 of 428.7 billion yen in extra spending.

The additional money would cover the cost of missiles, patrolling aircrafts, torpedoes, helicopters and other equipment, some of which were budgeted for purchase in next year’s spending.

But regional challenges require Japan to “speed up the enhancement of missile defense capability and other defense capacity needed for protecting islands in the southwestern region”, the ministry said.

Russia mourns 52 dead in coal mining tragedy

The spending request will be finalized this month after consultations with the ruling coalition, according to media reports.

In an annual defense paper released in July, Japan said US-China tensions over Taiwan are an increasingly urgent issue that threatens regional stability.

Beijing considers Taiwan part of its territory and has ramped up diplomatic, military and economic pressure on the self-governed island in recent years.

The United States has reacted strongly to Beijing’s campaign, putting ally Japan in a tough position between two world powers that are both key trade partners. AFP

STRONG WOMAN. A

woman walks in front of a GRAMOTEINO, Russia—A Siberian mining region graffiti before a began three days of mourning on Friday after officials demonstration on said 52 people died in a coal mine accident and a resthe International cue effort ended in tragedy.

Day for the CYAN MAGENTA YELLOW BLACK Investigators have launched a series of probes into Elimination of the disaster at the Listvyazhnaya mine in the KeremoViolence against vo region, the worst mining accident in Russia in more Women in Mexico than a decade.

City. AFP

Officials said the mine had filled with smoke in the early hours of Thursday after an apparent gas explosion.

Fifty-two people were killed, the emergencies ministry said on Friday, including six rescuers who had been part of a search operation.

“This is a huge tragedy for the entire country and the Russian emergencies ministry,” acting minister Alexander Chupriyan said in a statement.

“Rescuers, just like miners, did their duty to the end,” he said, and their names “will remain forever in our memory.”

The rescuers were to be given the Order of Courage -- one of Russia’s top awards -- posthumously, the ministry said.

Chupriyan said in televised remarks on Friday that another person had been found alive. No more details were immediately available.

N OTICE There were 285 people in the mine when it began Notice is hereby given that HAUSPLUS VENTURES, to fill with smoke on Thursday and miners described a INC., with office address at Suite 1103-Annapolis Wilshire Plaza, 11 Annapolis St., Greenhills, San Juan, frantic scramble to evacuate.

Metro Manila, is applying for registration with the Board “I might(BOI) haveaslost consciousness,” one worker told of Investments a new developer of economic and low-cost 24 housing project (Villano “I Ville 1 Butterfly Rossiya state television. don’t know how much Subdivision) with a capacity of 221 house and lot units under 11534 (CREATE Act) and the Preferred ListtimeR.A. passed.”

Mass Housing of the 2020 IPP with project site located “I stretched out my hands, they find me at Brgy.

Francisco Homes-Guijo, San Jose del couldn’t Monte, Bulacan on their own, because the visibility was bad,” another said.

I didn’t who it Any “They person grabbed with valid me... objection/s on theunderstand abovementioned project may file his/her objection in writing, was and where they were pulling me.” under oath, with the BOI within three (3) days from the date of thisOfficials publication. said it appeared the accident had been caused by a methane explosion.

The search and rescue (SGD.) ANGELITA F. ARCELLANA Director operation launched on Thursday had to be called off Infrastructure and Services Industries Service after several hours because of fears of another blast.

AFP

(MS-NOV. 27, 2021)

Kavala trial resumes after diplomatic bust-up ISTANBUL—The trial of jailed civil society leader Osman Kavala resumed on Friday with the first hearing since President Recep Tayyip Erdogan threatened to expel 10 Western ambassadors who called for his release.

The hearing comes with Erdogan facing one of the toughest economic tests of his rule since 2003, as the Turkish lira tumbles to record lows against the dollar.

The 64-year-old civil society leader and businessman, who has been kept in jail without conviction for more than four years, is accused of financing 2013 anti-government protests and playing a role in the 2016 coup attempt.

If convicted, he could be jailed for life without the possibility of parole.

Western diplomats, including from countries whose envoys had been threatened with expulsion, as well as several opposition lawmakers were in court.

The philanthropist has become a symbol to his supporters of the sweeping crackdown Erdogan unleashed after the failed coup.

Kavala, who denies the charges, snubbed Friday’s hearing after his case sparked a diplomatic standoff last month when the 10 embassies­­—including the US, France and Germany—said in a highly unusual declaration that his continued detention “cast a shadow” over Turkey’s democracy and judicial system.

Erdogan accused the diplomats of trying to “teach a lesson” to Turkey and threatened to expel them.

Kavala’s case could prompt the Council of Europe human rights watchdog to launch its first disciplinary hearings against Turkey at a four-day meeting ending on December 2—a procedure that has only been used once before in the court’s history. AFP

CYAN MAGENTA YELLOW BLACK

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Beijing asks ride-hailing giant Didi to delist shares

PSEi November 26, 2021

TOP GAINERS

LAST %

PRICE CHANGE CHANGE 1 MAHB 1.69 0.26 18.18% 2 IDC 2.12 0.22 11.58% 3 ECP 4.6 0.4 9.52% 4 ABG 5.7 0.43 8.16% 5 DIZ 5.49 0.37 7.23% 6 PRIM 1.36 0.07 5.43% 7 ROCK 1.57 0.07 4.67% 8 LOTO 2.09 0.08 3.98% 9 EURO 1.55 0.05 3.33% 10 LR 1.55 0.05 3.33%

TOP LOSERS

1 PHES 2 BCB 3 OPMB 4 I 5 PHA 6 ZHI 7 APVI

LAST % PRICE CHANGE CHANGE 0.61 -0.18 -22.78% 4.8 -0.6 -11.11% 0.01 -0.001 -9.09% 0.91 -0.09 -9.00% 0.72 -0.07 -8.86% 0.175 -0.015 -7.89% 18 -1.26 -6.54%

8 DITO 5.61 -0.39 -6.50% 9 BKR 1.67 -0.11 -6.18% 10 MARC 1.38 -0.09 -6.12%

MOST ACTIVE

1 MONDE 2 ACEN 3 ALI 4 SMPH 5 BDO 6 GLO 7 SM 8 CNVRG 9 TEL 10 MBT

VOLUME VALUE (PHP) 73,281,400 1,311,036,314 70,164,400 832,373,298 14,954,700 544,562,070 14,082,000 515,155,235 3,932,730 500,494,867 85,685 295,186,130 256,170 250,939,480 8,256,000 249,912,080 133,135 228,494,265 4,289,260 214,408,401

BLACK FRIDAY SALE. Shoppers buy TV sets at a megastore during a Black Friday sale in Sao Paulo, Brazil, on November 25, 2021. AFP

Global markets, oil prices slump on new virus variant

T

HE stock market sank Friday along with the rest of Asia over fears of a new coronavirus variant that scientists warn could be more infectious than Delta and more resistant to vaccines, potentially dealing a heavy blow to the global recovery.

The Philippine Stock Exchange Index slumped 90.83 points, or 1.2 percent, to 7,278.44 on a value turnover of almost P10 billion. Losers beat gainers, 135 to 66, with 43 issues unchanged.

Megaworld Corp., the biggest lessor of office spaces, fell 4.8 percent to P3.14, while GT Capital Holdings Inc. of the Ty Group dropped 4.5 percent to P575.

PLDT Inc., the biggest telecommunications firm, declined 2.6 percent to P1,699, while Globe Telecom Inc., the second-largest, decreased 2.9 percent to P3,400.

The rest Asian and European markets slumped and oil prices plunged while safe havens rallied on Friday.

The B.1.1.529 strain has been blamed for a surge in fresh cases in South Africa and has already cropped up in Hong Kong, with the World Health Organization due to hold a meeting later in the day to decide if it should be designated a variant of “interest” or of “concern.”

The discovery of the South African variant has led Britain, Germany, Italy, Singapore and Israel to ban all travel from the country and five others in southern Africa, as officials look to prevent it from taking hold in populations and spreading quickly. The European Union said it was looking into a blanket ban across the bloc.

“Early analysis shows that this variant has a large number of mutations that require and will undergo further study,” the WHO said.

The news has hammered confidence in Asian markets, which were already under pressure as traders prepared for the Federal Reserve to start tightening its monetary policy to fend off surging inflation.

On equity markets, Tokyo, Hong Kong and Mumbai were more than two percent off, while Sydney, Seoul, Singapore, Bangkok, Taipei, Mumbai, Wellington and Jakarta shed more than one percent.

Shanghai saw more limited losses.

Firms linked to travel were among the worst affected as investors fretted over the possibility that more restrictions will be brought in by governments.

Sydney-listed Qantas lost more than five percent, Hong Kong’s Cathay Pacific shed 4.1 percent and Singapore Airlines more than three percent. Macau casino operators were also down in Hong Kong. With AFP

Iceland’s $100-m journey to the center of the Earth

By Jeremie Richard REYKJAVIC, Iceland—With its large crater lake of turquoise water, plumes of smoke and sulfurous bubbling of mud and gases, the Krafla volcano is one of Iceland’s most awe-inspiring natural wonders.

Here, in the country’s northeast, a team of international researchers is preparing to drill two kilometers (1.2 miles) into the heart of the volcano, a Jules Verne-like project aimed at creating the world’s first underground magma observatory.

Launched in 2014 and with the first drilling due to start in 2024, the $100-million project involves scientists and engineers from 38 research institutes and companies in 11 countries, including the US, Britain and France.

The “Krafla Magma Testbed” (KMT) team hopes to drill into the volcano’s magma chamber. Unlike the lava spewed above ground, the molten rock beneath the surface remains a mystery.

The KMT is the first magma observatory in the world, Paolo Papale, volcanologist at the Italian national institute for geophysics and volcanology INGV, tells AFP. “We have never observed underground magma, apart from fortuitous encounters while drilling” in volcanoes in Hawaii and Kenya, and at

This handout photo taken on April 14, 2018 and made available by Iceland’s National Power Company Landsvirkjun on November 23, 2021 shows Krafla geothermal power plant near the Krafla volcano in northern Iceland, as northern lights can be seen in the background. AFP

Krafla in 2009, he says.

Scientists hope the project will lead to advances in basic science and so-called “super hot rock” geothermal power.

They also hope to further knowledge about volcano prediction and risks.

“Knowing where the magma is located... is vital” in order to be prepared for an eruption. “Without that, we are nearly blind,” says Papale.

Not so deep down Like many scientific breakthroughs, the magma observatory is the result of an unexpected discovery.

In 2009, when engineers were expanding Krafla’s geothermal power plant, a bore drill hit a pocket of 900 degree Celsius (1,650 Fahrenheit) magma by chance, at a depth of 2.1 kilometers.

Smoke shot up from the borehole and lava flowed nine meters up the well, damaging the drilling material.

But there was no eruption and no one was hurt.

Volcanologists realized they were within reach of a magma pocket estimated to contain around 500 million cubic meters.

Scientists were astonished to find magma this shallow—they had expected to be able to drill to a depth of 4.5 kilometers before that would occur.

Studies have subsequently shown the magma had similar properties to that from a 1724 eruption, meaning that it was at least 300 years old.

“This discovery has the potential to be a huge breakthrough in our capability to understand many different things,” ranging from the origin of the continents to volcano dynamics and geothermal systems, Papale enthuses.

Technically challenging The chance find was also auspicious for Landsvirkjun, the national electricity agency that runs the site.

That close to liquid magma, the rock reaches temperatures so extreme that the fluids are “supercritical,” a state in-between liquid and gas.

The energy produced there is five to 10 times more powerful than in a conventional borehole.

During the incident, the steam that rose to the surface was 450C, the highest volcano steam temperature ever recorded.

Two supercritical wells would be enough to generate the plant’s 60-megawatt capacity currently served by 18 boreholes. AFP

Syria eyes visitor bounce back, hoping for a return of European tourists DAMASCUS, Syria—Visitor numbers to Syria are growing again after a collapse caused by a decade of war, the tourism minister said Wednesday, adding he hoped for a return of European tour operators next year.

“We are expecting 2022 to be better than previous years,” Tourism Minister Mohammed Martini told a press conference in Damascus announcing a 10-year plan to revive the sector.

The number of arrivals to Syria so far this year stands at 488,000, in what he said was already an annual increase, although he did not provide last year’s figures.

He also said that the income generated by stateowned hotels had increased fivefold over the past year.

Martini did not specify the origin of the latest

arrivals, but Syria is an important destination for Shiite pilgrims and has continued to welcome visitors from Iran, Iraq and Lebanon during the conflict.

President Bashar al-Assad’s regime is a pariah in the West, and foreign sanctions have drastically reduced its economic ties with the rest of the world.

Martini, himself a hotel and tour operator owner under EU sanctions since 2019, said Syrian tourism players were touring European fairs to push for “a return of cultural tourism.”

He said his ministry had already received “dozens of requests from European tour operators” interested in organizing trips to Syria, which used to be a popular destination before deadly conflict erupted in 2011.

“I am not saying that the numbers will go back

up” to pre-2011 levels, “but they are going to grow,” he told AFP. At least two European tour operators, one based in the United Kingdom and the other in Germany, have already advertised trips to Syria for 2022.

Syria is home to several UNESCO world heritage sites that were very popular with tourists before the war, such as Palmyra and the Krak des Chevaliers crusader castle.

Most sites were damaged by more than 10 years of a conflict that has killed nearly half a million people, but restoration work was undertaken and the minister insisted all major attractions were now safe.

Fighting in the country has receded since the beginning of last year, but Syria’s economy is on its knees and the regime is seeking to claw itself out of international isolation. AFP

BEIJING, China—Regulators in China have asked ride-hailing giant Didi to draw up a plan to delist from the United States over data concerns, a report said Friday, as Beijing continues its tight scrutiny of domestic tech giants.

Over the past year, several of the country’s biggest companies—including Alibaba, Tencent and Meituan—have been swept up in a regulatory crackdown that has clipped the wings of major internet firms wielding massive influence on consumers’ daily lives.

A mammoth New York debut in June for Didi Chuxing was quickly overshadowed by an investigation by the Chinese cyber watchdog on the grounds of cybersecurity, launched just days after the listing.

Bloomberg reported Friday that Chinese regulators now want Didi’s executives to take the company off the New York Stock Exchange over worries about sensitive data leakage, citing people familiar with the matter.

The report added that privatization or a share float in Hong Kong are among options.

The Cyberspace Administration of China, which oversees data security, has directed the company to work out the details subject to government approval, the sources said.

The move is a further blow to Didi, which raised $4.4 billion in its New York IPO—making it the largest US IPO by a Chinese firm since Alibaba in 2014.

The ride-hailing firm has been hit especially hard by the state’s clampdown on tech companies, with its service ordered off app stores in July and government agencies launching on-site inspections at its offices over “national security” fears.

Founded in 2012 by Cheng Wei—a former executive at Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba—Didi has dominated the local ride-hailing market since it won a costly turf war against US titan Uber in 2016.

The app claims to have more than 15 million drivers and nearly 500 million users, and is often the fastest and easiest way to call a ride in crowded Chinese cities.

Bloomberg added Friday that it was possible the delisting would form part of a raft of punishments for Didi, after it infuriated Chinese officials by ploughing ahead with its US IPO despite pushback from Beijing. AFP

Ottawa dismayed

by US move to hike duties on lumber WASHINGTON—Washington will double compensatory and anti-dumping tariffs on Canadian lumber, a move long expected but that has nonetheless disappointed Ottawa and could further drive up prices in the United States.

Most Canadian companies that export softwood lumber to the United States will have to pay 17.9 percent duties, up from the current 8.99 percent, according to documents from the US Commerce Department and the Canadian government.

“Canada is extremely disappointed that the United States has decided to increase to 17.9 percent the unfair duties it imposes on most producers of Canadian softwood lumber” and “calls on the United States to put an end to it,” said Canadian international trade minister Mary Ng in a statement.

When contacted Thursday by AFP for comment, the US Department of Commerce did not respond.

The decision will go into effect once it has been published in the Federal Register, the official list of US federal rules and public notices, which could happen next week.

The tariffs are reviewed annually, and Washington had published preliminary results in May. The Quebec Forest Industry Council (QFIC) expects “additional upward pressure on the North American price of wood as well as on the Quebec forest industry,” according to a press release.

“US consumers are the ones paying the price,” QFIC CEO Jean-Francois Samray told AFP Thursday, indicating that “the United States cannot meet its domestic demand.”

The US National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) is concerned that “doubling the tariffs will only exacerbate market volatility, put upward pressure on lumber prices and make housing more expensive.”

“Home builders are grappling with lumber and other building material supply chain bottlenecks that are raising construction costs,” the association said. AFP

Business

Ray S. Eñano, Editor Roderick T. dela Cruz, Assistant Editor business@manilastandard.net extrastory2000@gmail.com

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SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 27, 2021

PH prospects stay promising, says Diokno

By Julito G. Rada BANGKO Sentral ng Pilipinas Governor Benjamin Diokno said Friday the medium- and long-term prospects for the Philippine economy remain promising despite the prolonged impact of the global health crisis.

Diokno, in a presentation during the virtual Philippine Economic Briefing for the Joint Foreign Chambers, cited the factors that could enable the country to weather domestic and external headwinds going forward.

He said these included the easing inflation rate, recovery of bank lending, ample liquidity, strong external position, stable banking system and improving consumer and business sentiments. “This opinion is shared by relevant third-party observers.

Throughout the pandemic—amid a wave of rating downgrades worldwide—the Philippines maintained its investment grade credit ratings,” Diokno said.

“Beyond the short-term challenges of the pandemic, credit rating analysts say that sound fundamentals and policies will help the Philippines return to a sustainable growth path once the dust settles,” Diokno said.

Following the 12.0-percent gross domestic product expansion in the second quarter, the third-quarter growth rate of 7.1 percent was among the highest in the ASEAN region.

This brought the average in the first three quarters to 4.9 percent, near the upper end of the 2021 target range of 4 percent to 5 percent.

Meanwhile, Finance Secretary Carlos Dominguez III pitched before foreign investors the Philippines’ “gamechanging undertakings” to ensure a strong, inclusive and resilient recovery from the pandemic and urged them to take part in these initiatives to help achieve a ‘sustainable and better future” for the Filipino people.

These game changers include a fast-tracked digitalization program across the Philippine bureaucracy, the timely passage of the corporate tax reform law, the establishment of a national ID system, measures to improve the ease of doing business, the sustained modernization of the country’s infrastructure, and ambitious climate adaptation and mitigation projects, Dominguez said.

IN BRIEF GMR-Megawide executives post bail MEGAWIDE Construction Corp. said Friday the board of directors of GMR Megawide Cebu Airport Corp. will post bail after a regional trial court in Lapu-Lapu City issued a warrant of arrest for their alleged violation of the AntiDummy Law. “We received information that the warrants of arrest were already issued against the directors of Megawide’s airport subsidiary, GMR Megawide Cebu Airport Corp. for the alleged violation of the Anti-Dummy Law,” the company said in a statement.

“This is a procedural step to acquire jurisdiction over the persons of the said directors, and is being addressed with the posting of bail,” it said.

The court ordered Edgar Saavedra, president and chief executive of Megawide Construction Corp., directors Manuel Louie Ferrer and Oliver Tan, and 12 other officers and directors to post bail amounting to P90,000 each.

“This is the latest development in a long line of attempts to bring down Megawide’s reputation and credibility that, will be recalled, began with its bid for the rehabilitation of NAIA [Ninoy Aquino International Airport],” the company said. Darwin G. Amojelar

Meralco to pioneer Amber energy storage

SM TRAINING. SM Foundation, in partnership with Technical Education and Skills Development Authority, Department of Labor and Employment, Department of Social Welfare and Development, SM Supermalls and SM Markets, launches the first ever national certificate training program for customer service at SM City Pampanga. Dubbed as the SM Asensong Pinoy Program, the project aims to strengthen the qualifications of the Filipino workforce and ultimately address various employment issues in the customer service sector. The program’s curriculum is designed to produce industry efficient retail under the supervision of SM Markets.

URC buys Malaysia’s Munchy Food for P23b

By Jenniffer B. Austria

F

OOD manufacturer Universal Robina Corp. disclosed Friday a plan to acquire 100 percent of the Malaysiabased snack food group behind the brand Munchy’s for RM1.925 billion, or nearly P23 billion.

URC said in a disclosure to the stock exchange it would acquire Munchy Food Industries Sdn. Bhd. and its subsidiary Munchworld Marketing Sdn. Bhd. from private equity fund CVC Capital Partners on a cash-free and debt-free basis.

The deal is expected to enable URC to scale up its business in Malaysia and further increase its presence across the Southeast Asian region.

“URC is delighted to announce the acquisition of Munchy’s which will add immediate value to our international product portfolio, and scale up our Malaysian market position to leadership in the Biscuits category,” URC president and chief executive Irwin Lee said.

“Munchy’s, with its strong brands, talented organization and operational excellence is a great strategic fit with URC. Together, we will be able to fur-

ther expand the footprint of URC and The acquisition of Munchy’s was anMunchy’s brands and unlock growth nounced three months after URC exited synergies in Malaysia as well as across the salty and sweet snacks business in the ASEAN region,” Lee said.

Australia and New Zealand.

The final purchase consideration will be determined post-completion, subject to adjustment mechanisms for cash and Friday, November 26, 2021 debt levels by completion. The deal is VOLUME 1,040,765,939 -90.83 PTS. TOTAL expected to close by December 2021.

TOTAL TRADES 103,897 TOTAL VALUE 9,974,648,713.77 Munchy’s chief executive Rodney ADVANCES 66 DECLINES 135 Wong said the deal would allow the 7,278.44 UNCHANGED 43 company to have access to research and development expertise in multiple categoF oreign E xchange R ate ries, enhance market knowledge, route to Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas • FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 26, 2021 Currency Unit US Dollar Peso market and manufacturing capabilities in United States Dollar 1.000000 50.4600 countries outside of Malaysia.

Japan Yen 0.008669 0.4374 “This will translate to development of UK Pound 1.332400 67.2329 innovative forward-thinking offerings to Hong Kong Dollar 0.128264 6.4722 our consumers and strengthen our presSwitzerland Franc 1.068490 53.9160 ence in the ASEAN market,” Wong said.

Canada Dollar 0.790639 39.8956 Singapore Dollar 0.731208 36.8968 Munchy’s, which started in 1991, is Australia Dollar 0.719000 36.2807 one of the leading players in the biscuits Bahrain Dinar 2.652801 133.8603 category in Malaysia and the market Saudi Arabia Rial 0.266610 13.4531 leader in several key segments. It also Brunei Dollar 0.728544 36.7623 expanded its footprint outside of MaIndonesia Rupiah 0.000070 0.0035 laysia, being present in more than 50 Thailand Baht 0.029985 1.5130 UAE Dirham 0.272279 13.7392 countries.

Euro Euro 1.121200 56.5758 URC is one of the largest branded Korea Won 0.000840 0.0424 food product companies in the PhilipChina Yuan 0.156585 7.9013 pines and established a strong presence India Rupee 0.013427 0.6775 in the ASEAN region. The company is Malaysia Ringgit 0.236518 11.9347 involved in a wide range of food-related New Zealand Dollar 0.685900 34.6105 Taiwan Dollar 0.035982 1.8157 businesses, including the manufacture Source: BSP and distribution of branded consumer food.

SOGO CARES supports DepEd’s Brigada Eskwela MORE than 50,000 students from 50 various schools recently received learning supplies, cleaning materials, surgical masks, and vitamins from Hotel Sogo through its Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) program, SOGO CARES, in coordination with the Department of Education’s (DepED) Brigada Eskwela.

SOGO CARES supports this campaign of DepEd with the theme “Bayanihan sa Paaralan,” which emphasizes the country’s collective efforts in promoting collaboration for safe living and addressing social issues and concerns in schools homes, and communities despite the COVID-19 pandemic.

Unfortunately, not all parents can provide learning materials for their children, especially those in far-flung and underprivileged communities. This year, SOGO CARES has been promoting and encouraging education through the Balik-Eskwela campaign of the government, where they provide learning tools for students and children who wish to go back to school but are hindered by economics.

“We are pleased with this “reconfigured” campaign of DepEd because we can extend our efforts to more schools all over the country, especially in isolated locations such as in the area of Biliran, Pampanga, Batangas, and Rizal. We are honored to be a part of this endeavour by the Philippine government. It is always a joy to support schools and children in any way we can. We believe that children without access to basic needs are more likely to stop their studies. Providing basic items like pencils, paper, crayons, and learning material can significantly increase student engagement and keep kids in school.”, shared by Ms. Sue Geminiano, Hotel Sogo Marketing Manager.

Hotel Sogo’s CSR Program started in 1998 with a donation of linens, pillowcases, and bath towels to victims of the Super Typhoon Loleng. Since then, SOGO CARES has continuously extended its humanitarian services to various communities, including the education sector.

PSE INDEX CLOSING

Bangko Sentral maintains interest ceilings on credit card transactions THE Monetary Board, the policymaking body of the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas, said Friday it maintained the interest rate ceilings on credit card transactions under Circular No. 1098 issued in September 2020 partly to ease the financial burden of the public amid the pandemic.

The maximum interest rate or finance charge on unpaid outstanding credit card balance of a cardholder remains at 2 percent per month or 24 percent per year. The monthly add-on rates that credit card issuers can charge on installment loans were retained at a maximum of 1 percent.

Meanwhile, the maximum processing fee on the availment of credit card cash advances would stay at P200 per transaction.

SOGO CARES support to schools has lightened the burden of parents and teachers, especially when the nation is faced with severe crises on health, education, and economy because of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Hotel Sogo intends to increase the presence and efforts of its Balik-Eskwela program in partnership with DepEd’s various projects.

For more details, visit www.sogocares. ph or like and follow Sogo Cares on Facebook (facebook.com/ sogocares) and Instagram (@sogo.cares)

“The decision of the Monetary Board is based on a holistic assessment considering the developments in the macroeconomy, the state of credit card financing as well as the safety and soundness of banks and other credit card issuers. It will also continue to help ease financial burden of consumers through affordable credit card pricing,” BSP Governor Benjamin Diokno, who is also the board chairman, said in a statement.

He said the retention of the ceiling was in line with the low-interest rate environment. In its latest policy meeting, the Monetary Board maintained the overnight reverse repurchase facility at 2 percent, the lowest since the beginning of the pandemic. Julito G. Rada

CHATIME-SHELL TIEUP. Chatime signs an agreement with Shell Mobility Stations for the opening of Chatime in the 1st Shell Mobility Station in Acienda Silang in Cavite, making it the first beverage brand to have a presence in what is dubbed as ‘Site of the Future’ in the Philippines. At the signing ceremony are (seated, from left) Rolyn Mae Tomarong, non-fuels retailing manager of Pilipinas Shell Pertroleum Corp.; Randy del Valle, general manager of Shell PH; Johnlu Koa, chair emeritus of Chatime PH and chief executive and founder of French Baker; and Michael Koa, general manager of Chatime PH. With them are (standing, from left) Christopher Cua, finance and marketing director of Chatime PH; Elisa Koa, operations director of Chatime PH; and Carlo Dizon, business development manager of Chatime PH.

POWER retailer Manila Electric Co. and Amber Kinetics are pioneering the longduration Flywheel Energy Storage System in the country.

The two parties said in a joint statement the pioneering project would allow Meralco to test and demonstrate Amber Kinetics Flywheel Energy Storage System as part of their initiatives to explore new and clean energy technologies at the Meralco Power Tech center—a state-ofthe-art research and development facility in Pasig City.

“The promising partnership between Meralco and Amber Kinetics paves the way for a clean energy future in the Philippines as both companies envision the same sustainability agenda,” the companies said.

Meralco said it was working on significant expansion to support renewable energy projects in the country. Meralco seeks to provide consumers with a competitive power supply, all while placing environmental protection and sustainability as key priorities.

Alena Mae S. Flores

Hann Casino Resort set to open on Dec. 15 HANN Casino Resort, the first fully-integrated resort in Clark Freeport Zone, will open on Dec. 15 to accommodate guests while addressing pandemic safety concerns and ensuring that minimum health protocols are observed.

“Despite the disruption the pandemic caused, our vision of creating the ultimate millionaire’s playground in Clark remains the same. We are set to open the first fully integrated resort in phases, and guests can expect only the finest in hospitality and entertainment,” said Daesik Han, president and chief executive of Hann Philippines Inc. Hann Casino is a world-class luxury gaming space that is set to be the biggest and most opulent in the Freeport zone.

“We remain committed to our vision of raising the concept of play into a lifestyle that people would want to discover through worldclass experiences. With the soft opening of Hann Casino Resort, we aim to attract tourists and investors to the area to help kickstart the Philippines’ economy and revive the tourism industry,” Han said.

Energy endorses inclusion of palm oil in fuel mixture

By Othel V. Campos THE Department of Energy agreed to endorse the proposal of the Federation of Philippine Industries to allow the use of palm oil in the country’s fuel mix, an industry leader said Friday.

The group met recently with the DOE to discuss the possible use of palm oil for biodiesel production amid skyrocketing fuel prices.

“Diesel is the one being used in public transport and in the delivery of goods, so it affects the masses. The use of the cheaper palm oil, therefore, will serve as a permanent solution instead of the government having to periodically adjust excise taxes just to cushion the impact of higher crude prices. This is a solution where no sector will be hurt, even the government,” said PFI president Jess Arranza.

FPI said in the meeting the use of palm oil, instead of coconut oil, in the diesel mix would result in multiple benefits that could be felt by motorists, local industries and farmers.

Arranza said the application is now pending for approval at the National Biofuels Board, after the DOE agreed to endorse the proposal to the board.

Arranza said palm oil-derived diesel additive would bring down the price of the fuel as palm oil is cheaper by around $300 to $500 than coconut oil per ton in the world market.

He said the volume of coconut oil that would be released or freed from the diesel mix could be utilized for higher-value products, including virgin coconut oil, which proved effective against enveloped viruses like the SARS-CoV-2 and as a treatment for Alzheimer’s disease.

The DOE reportedly agreed to reserve coconut oil for premium and higher-value purposes such as for food and medical applications which would be good for the coconut industry.

The FPI said some unscrupulous traders were already importing palm oil for use in biodiesel mix, although they were declaring their diesel products as containing coconut oil still to earn a higher margin.

Avaricio wins ICTSI Riviera by 7 strokes

Sports

N

INETY riders from 15 teams.

Sixteen stages in 22 days. Ten million pesos. Big-time cycling is back.

After a two-year absence from the road, a spectacle on wheels returns with a bang when GO Philippines Tour 2022 blasts off on Feb. 14 in Davao City.

“We know how our local cycling fans and riders have been hungry to have another big cycling competition and this our answer to that,” said Go Philippines Tour event director Ric Rodriguez during the launch on Thursday at the City of Dreams Ballroom in Paranaque.

Rodriguez said they targeted 15 participating teams, led by four pro squads Go For Gold, 7-11, Standard Insurance and Excellent Noodles. The rest will come from various LGUs like Nueva Ecija and Pangasinan.

They will vie for the total cash pot of P10 million—the biggest in Philippine cycling history—for the individual awards and team championships in this 16-stage wheel fiesta that can be witnessed by cycling fans from Mindanao to Luzon.

“It’s a realization of a dream,” said Go Philippines Tour chief executive

Belga signs 2-year pact with Painters

By Argie Paul Candare THE RAIN or Shine Elasto Painters are not done yet in extending the contract of their preferred players as they now secured the team’s long-time bruiser in Beau Belga in a two-year deal.

Belga, who has played for the franchise in a decade, is the backbone of the Elasto Painters’ defense with his tenacity and IQ. Finishing the last conference eliminations as the third overall scorer of the team, the 6’6” slotman contributed 9.27 points, 5.91 rebounds and 2.55 assists per game.

Belga and veteran-wing Gabe Norwood are longest tenured players of the Chris Gavina-coached squad.

Norwood has been part of the team for 12 years, acquired through the draft as the first overall pick in 2008.

The PCU standout Belga came into the league as the 7th pick of 2008 draft, selected by then Purefoods Tender Juicy Giants, before migrating to Air21 Express and Meralco Bolts. After short stints with those teams, he settled for a role in Rain or Shine in 2011.

With JR Quinahan, they established a duo named “Extra Rice, Inc.,” coached by known disciplinarian tactician Yeng Guiao.

The three-time All-Star last held a title during 2016 Commissioner’s Cup against Alaska Aces, when they were reinforced by Pierre Henderson-Niles.

SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 27, 2021

Riera U. Mallari, Editor; Randy M. Caluag, Assistant Editor

SILANG, Cavite—Chanelle Avaricio, twice denied of a top podium finish on the Ladies Philippine Golf Tour, broke through in style, capturing the ICTSI Riviera Ladies Challenge crown via a whopping seven-stroke romp over Harmie Constantino and Chihiro Ikeda on a closing 69 here yesterday.

Bracing for another tough drive to LPGT glory against a player who has racked up two victories in her rookie season, Avaricio wiped out Constantino’s two-stroke lead after 36 holes with a birdie-eagle feat on Nos. 3 and 7, respectively, then cruised to the lopsided victory at four-under 212 despite a two-birdie, two-bogey game the rest of the way.

For Constantino and amateur Mafy Singson failed to mount any challenge with the former surrendering the lead despite an even-par game after six holes and bowing out of the title race with three straight bogeys from No. 7. She yielded three more strokes in a birdie-less 78.

Twice winner of the Eagle Ridge-Aoki legs this year, Constantino still finished second at 219 despite that closing six-over card with Ikeda matching that output after fighting back from three early bogeys with birdies on Nos. 8 and 14 for a 73.

“Still in shock but I felt happy that I finally won,” said Avaricio, who lost to absentee Princess Superal twice at Sherwood and Eagle Ridge-Norman last July.

The Alabama State U product finished fourth at Aoki and struggled to sixth place at Highlands but got back into the thick of things with a 70 Thursday that put her within two strokes off Constantino.

“This victory exceeded all my expectations and I want to thank ICTSI for sponsoring our circuit,” said Avaricio, who banged in a birdie putt from long range on No. 3 then pulled off two solid shots on the par-5 seventh and drained in the eagle putt from pin-high distance.

“Sana more (wins) to come in the future,” added Avaricio, who banked her biggest earnings of P101,250 since turning pro in mid-2019.

By Randy Caluag

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Constantino and Ikeda each received P63,750.

Singson, who contended for the pro crown in the last two stops of the Pilipinas Golf Tournaments, Inc.-organized circuit at Aoki and Highlands, pressed her bid with a birdie on No. 5. But like the rest of the pursuers, succumbed to tough conditions and tricky surface of the Couples course, reeling with four bogeys against another birdie for 74 and a 220 for joint fourth with Sunshine Baraquiel, whose twobirdie feat after seven holes sparked some hopes for the recent Highlands leg winner to wage a comeback.

But the lady pilot sputtered with three bogeys against one more birdie as she settled for a second straight 72 and took P54,000.

After romping off with the low amateur honors in the last two tournaments, Singson stared at losing her shot at a third straight as Laurea Duque moved to joint second with an even par card after 13 holes. She still led Singson by one despite a bogey on the 16th but failed to score a follow-up on her Aoki feat last March with a closing double-bogey.

Duque wound up with a 75 and ended up instead at sixth with 221, enabling Singson to nail another trophy in the circuit put up by ICTSI. “I could’ve finished better but it was okay,” said Singson, who rued her bout with a balky putter majority of the way. “I hit most of the greens but the greens are really tricky and was able to make just two birdies.

Marvi Monsalve battled back with a 73 to finish seventh at 225 while Daniella Uy hardly recovered from a disastrous second round 79 with a 75 to place eighth at 227 followed by Korean rookie pro Jane Jeong, who limped with an 82 for a 231, and Florence Bisera, who also skied with an 80 for a 232.

Meanwhile, the compact field heads to the adjacent Langer course for the ICTSI Riviera Ladies Championship on Dec. 1-3 with the tour winding up its third restart on Dec. 14-16 for the ICTSI Midlands Ladies Classic.

Chanelle Avaricio: Still in shock, but I felt happy that I finally won.

Go Philippines bike tour offers record P10-M pot officer Marian Romilyn Galanza of the event that will be passing through some of the country’s top scenic and tourist attractions.

“We are just as excited with Rodriguez in the staging of this event that will be anticipated by local riders and cycling fans alike.”

Galanza noted that the event has the endorsement of Tourism Secretary Bernadette Romulo Puyat, who has been a strong advocate of sports tourism and the opening up of the industry that was enjoying a huge boom before the pandemic struck.

She also cited Sen. Christopher Lawrence “Bong” Go, the Chairman of the Senate Sports Committee, for supporting the bike fest, underscoring his status both as a sportsman and patron of local sports.

“We hope that this cycling event will be one of Sen. Go’s lasting sports legacies in recognizing our local cyclists,

Organizers and stakeholders of the Go Philippines Tour during the launch at the City of Dreams Ballroom in Parañaque

who mostly come from the marginalized sector of society, and are among our unsung heroes,” Galanza said.

Rodriguez revealed that the longest leg at 228 kilometers from Lin-

gayen, Pangasinan to Vigan, Ilocos Sur, looms as the make-or-break stage for the riders. The final stage will be in Baguio City with the finish being hosted by Camp John Hay.

In every stage, Rodriguez said fun bike races will also be held to accommodate bike enthusiasts to have fun and give them the “feel of what it’s like in competitive racing.”

Picson elected ABAP president; Vargas is chairman Ed Picson

THE Association of Boxing Alliances in the Philippines held its regular elections virtually Thursday and unanimously chose long-time executive director and secretary-general Ed Picson as its new president.

Outgoing president Ricky Vargas, the chief architect of boxing’s three-medal haul in the Tokyo Olympics this year and who now assumes the ABAP chairmanship, nominated Picson, saying “I am honored to turn the baton over to Ed as my successor. He is the most quali-

fied and deserving for the position. Ed is a principled and honest man, who believes in good governance, cares very much for our boxers and is hands on. I am confident he will bring ABAP to the next level.”

Also elected unanimously were Deputy Speaker Robbie Puno as vice president and former Congressman Raul Daza as vice chairman.

For his part Picson, a veteran sportscaster and newspaper columnist, said: “ I am humbled by the trust and confidence

reposed in me. The results in the last Olympics, where Nesthy Petecio and Carlo Paalam won silvers and Eumir Marcial got bronze, will be a tough act to follow.

But our boxers, coaches and support staff assure me they are all up to the task. We vow not to let the country down.”

As per the National Sports Association’s bylaws, the secretary-general and treasurer will be appointed by the incoming president. Picson said he will do so in their first board meeting within a week.

PH beach volleyball bets put up gallant stand in Phuket THE Philippines matched a milestone in men’s action while the women put up a gallant stand in the Asian Senior Beach Volleyball Championships at the Bang Tao Beach in Phuket, Thailand.

The 19th-seeded pair of Jude Garcia and Krung Arbasto reached the quarterfinals following a stunning 22-20, 18-21, 15-12 win over Qatar 2’s Ahmed Mahmoud and Saifeddin Elmajid, the eighth seeds in the five-day tournament.

The pair matched the country’s best finish in the annual competition since Rhovyl Verayo and Parley Tupaz made the final eight in 2007 in Songkhla also in Thailand. Verayo is now coaching the men’s team.

Garcia and Arbasto, however, took a 19-21, 21-13, 10-15 loss to Iran 2’s Bahman Salemi and Abolhassan Khakizadeh in a 49-minute

contest to miss a semifinal berth. Salemi, a 2017 Asian champion, and Khakizadeh are seeded 11th in the contest.

“I’m very satisfied with the way our beach volleyball players performed in Phuket. We will get better,” said Philippine National Volleyball Federation president Ramon “Tats” Suzara.

The Philippines—whose participation in the tournament is backed by Rebisco, Taguig City through Rep. Alan Peter Cayetano, Philippine Sports Commission and the Philippine Olympic Committee, is back in the tournament after an 11-year absence.

Dij Rodriguez and Gen Eslapor and Sisi Rondina and Bernadeth Pons, meanwhile, showed signs of getting to competitive form by reaching the round-of-16 in women’s play.

The 16th-seeded Rodriguez and Eslapor lost to Australia 2’s Jasmine Fleming and Stefanie

The Philippines’ Jude Garcia and Krung Arbasto in action in Phuket.

Fejes,18-21, 14-21 while No. 12 Rondina and Pons bowed to Japan 2’s Akiko Hasegawa and Yurika Sakaguchi, 17-21, 15-21.

The other men’s squad is composed of AJ Pareja and James Pecaña. They didn’t get past the pool play.

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SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 27, 2021

Joel D. Lacsamana, Editor E-mail: jdlacsamana@gmail.com

Home/Design CEBU RISING.

Pueblo de Oro Development Corporation (PDO), the property development arm of the ICCP Group, recently turned over two of its residential subdivisions in Lapu-Lapu City in Cebu – the La Aldea Del Mar Cebu and the Park Place Cebu – to their respective homeowners associations. At the signing of the Deed of Usufruct and turnover ceremony were (from left) PDO Cebu assistant vice president Engr. Benjamin Roleda; Park Place Homeowners Association (HOA) corporate secretary Wynda May Dechino; auditor Flordeliza Rafal; president Alma Jane Castellano; Lapu-Lapu city mayor Junard “Ahong” Chan; PDO-Visayas vice president Ronald Allan Uy; HOA vice president Rhine Gene Enerio; treasurer Marlen Bagaslao; and public relations officer Nico Solis. Pueblo de Oro has been developing mixed-used townships and residential projects for more than 25 years in the cities of Cagayan de Oro; Malvar and Sto. Tomas in Batangas; San Fernando, Pampanga; and Mactan in Cebu.

‘REAL ESTATE MATTERS’ KICKS OFF TONIGHT

Aims to be number 1 in property investing online

THE Home and Design Section of the Manila Standard will launch tonight the inaugural episode of “Real Estate Matters”, a fortnightly webinar that aims to feature property development, real estate investing, construction and home and design issues.

“Real Estate Matters” hopes to become the number one home for real estate investing online. The show will tackle in its initial series of episodes how the big property players are adjusting to the new normal while building projects that would cater to the Filipino home buyers, office renters, shoppers, travelers and industrial investors out there.

The webinar will also shed new light on the smaller, more agile players who are now using technology and creativity to carve their mark in a more exciting real estate ecosystem.

Along the way, some of the most brilliant architectural and interior design minds in the country and elsewhere, will give tips on how to spice up viewers’ homes, as well as work and play arrangements during these trying times.

The guest lineup tonight features Kenneth Stern, CEO of Lamudi, and property guru/trainer Alejandro Manalac. Both will give their takes on, among other topics, the growing “rurbanization” of significant swathes of the Philippines outside Metro Manila and other major urban centers, as more Filipino home buyers get drawn to the idea of living in well-planned, wide open spaces, due to the lessons of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Join “Real Estate Matters” as it turns your Saturday evening into a pleasant discussion as well as informative perambulation into the various opportunities opening up in the property scene, both here and abroad.

Watch the webisode on Manila Standard’s official Facebook page https:// web.facebook.com/ManilaStandardPH and YouTube Channel | Nov. 27, 2021 @ 8PM.

Ramping up bamboo

as a sustainable building material

T

O be the world’s authority on the use of bamboo and other sustainable materials for building construction, and, in the distant future, establish a “bamboo university” that will become the global center of learning on everything that this grass species has to offer.

These two are part of the vision and mission of non-profit Base Bahay Foundation, Inc..

As advocates of using bamboo and other renewable resources as construction materials, Base likes to dream big.

‘WOW’ HOTEL IN TAGAYTAY. Hotel Casiana, one of Tagaytay’s newest hotels

is fast becoming the preferred location for staycationers. “We are overwhelmed with the positive reviews that the hotel has generated since opening a few months ago,” Nilda D. Serrano, operations manager, told the Manila Standard. Rooms at Hotel Casiana are snapped up at a fast clip, with people encouraged to try out the rooms which all come with a balcony. For entertainment, guests commended Hotel Casiana for having in its rooms a 50-inch Android television with cable channel, and where you can turn on your Netflix account, or indulge in YouTube videos. For leisure, guests have raved about the heated pool, “useful” especially during the cold season in Tagaytay. Already operating are a full-service restaurant for business, in-room spa, and a pleasant café at the lobby. The hotel is located along the Tagaytay–Nasugbu main highway, near the Mahogany Market and Taal Lake. For inquiries, visit the official Facebook page: Hotel Casiana.

LUXURY, MID-INCOME PROPERTY RECOVERING IN ‘22. The demand for luxury and mid-income residential projects point to a gradual, but sustainable recovery next year. For Shang Properties Inc. (SPI), developing residential spaces in the new normal boils down to making it uniquely personal, a retreat from the hustle and bustle of the metropolis. The Shang Residences at Wack Wack in Mandaluyong (Shown here), for example, promises privacy and exclusivity for residences. In North Makati, The Rise Makati (Inset) breathes new life in the area known for its art, design, and cuisine. “We take great lengths to design spaces for our respective markets,” explained Jose Juan Z. Jugo, executive vice president for commercial. “Our goal has always been to provide an exemplary living space, curated carefully to reflect a unique personal touch.”

BAMBOO LABORATORY To nurture these dreams and bring them closer to reality, Base Bahay relies on a unique component of their organization: a “bamboo laboratory” called the Base Innovation Center (BIC).

“You can’t find a laboratory like this anywhere else in the world— one that is focused on alternative building materials, especially for the social housing sector,” said Luis Felipe López, who runs the BIC as its director, along with engineers and students from partner universities conducting their own research.

BIC officially opened at the start of the year in Manila. It is the research and development arm of Base Bahay, and seeks to continue the improvement of the overall application of the foundation’s Cement Bamboo Frame technology, explained Maricen Jalandoni, Base Bahay president and chair of the board of trustees.

“Through continuous research and innovation, Base Bahay is able to establish itself as the leader in bamboo technology,” Jalandoni says.

NATIONAL BUILDING CODE FOR BAMBOO EYED A huge chunk of the research that BIC does involves testing bamboo to evaluate its mechanical properties, explained López. Knowing this allows local authorities to have design values for bamboo that permits the creation of a national building code for bamboo. The code could be used by structural engineers to determine the design of the housing structure that will be built using Base Bahay’s Cement Bamboo Frame.

Currently, the foundation partners with organizations such as Habitat for Humanity to build sustainable communities with affordable housing across the Philippines. So far, they have established 12 such communities,

USING INNOVATION. At the Base Innovation Center, Technology Director Luis Felipe Lopez (Shown in photo) runs tests to evaluate the mechanical properties of different types of bamboo that will feed into the creation of a national bamboo building code, and bring it into the mainstream as a sustainable building material.

which house and provide livelihood to around 1,000 families, or more than 5,000 individuals.

“Establishing BIC has put us at an advantage in terms of research, and has opened up a flurry of partnerships,” said Pablo Jorillo, Base Bahay general manager. “BIC allows our partners to see what we can offer them on the different construction methods and design elements we can study for bamboo, such as wind design and seismic design.”

BIC also aims for their research to help incorporate the use of bamboo into the mainstream by establishing it as part of the building code, not just of the Philippines, but of other countries’ as well, said Jorillo.

BAMBOO SPECIES Base’s research currently touches on a variety of topics, including the characterization of five different bamboo species in the Philippines, which they are working on in close collaboration with the De La Salle University Manila. Base has been working with Coventry University UK in the implementation of the ISO 19624 Bamboo grading, a standard that allows bamboo producers to have a better classification of their poles.

With Mara University Malaysia,

Base is also doing the characterization of some Malayan bamboo species.

Another important topic that Base is exploring, together with ETH Zurich, is the Life Cycle Assessment of the Cement Bamboo Frame constructions. This research will provide a better understanding of the carbon embedded in this kind of construction.

GUIDEBOOK ON BAMBOO STRUCTURAL DESIGN The BIC, in collaboration with Pittsburgh University, Coventry University, and Arup, is producing a guidebook about bamboo structural design, which will cover load tables for bamboo similar to those commonly used for steel and timber. These tables will reduce the need for repetitive calculation and allow rapid calculation of minimum design requirements.

And the ultimate dream? Become the world’s bamboo university, to ensure continuous and multi-level learning on bamboo and renewable construction materials across the entire infrastructure value chain, from workers to engineers to designers.

“BIC is pushing Base Bahay forward,” vowed Jorillo. “The innovation that we do is a stepping stone for us to do more.”

Tech & Gadgets Globe strengthens anti-spam SMS efforts GLOBE continues to heighten its anti-spam and anti-scam campaign through a dedicated cybersecurity team that has deactivated 5,670 confirmed spam numbers, and successfully blocked close to 71 million spam messages in this year alone.

The company’s specialized teams are part of a larger internal Cybersecurity and Data Privacy group that responds to spam complaints and proactively deals with spammers and scams. Globe terminates and blocks numbers of detected spammers through its systems, including those reported through www.globe.com. ph/stopspam.

“We take unsolicited and fraudulent messages seriously, and protecting Globe customers from these scams remains a top business priority,” said Anton Bonifacio, Globe Chief Information Security Officer.

He added that since the pandemic started, the company has invested an additional $7.25 million in CAPEX solely to continue enhancing anti-spam capabilities in its network.

Globe has also partnered with major universal and commercial banks, as well as Lazada and Shopee, to minimize not just spam but also scams and phishing activities; ensuring the protection of customers within the network. These partner companies report fake numbers, spoofed sender names, and websites, which Globe in turn blocks in its network immediately, as they are reported.

Globe stressed that, while it is doing what it can to control spam on the network side, there are also tools available to customers on the "device" side.

Customers can use the "Messages" app by Google as their default Android SMS messenger for instance, since the app has highly-effective built-in spam filters similar to how a "Google Mail" user may have built-in spam filters.

“Given the ongoing pandemic, many businesses are struggling to get their products across to consumers. This has contributed to a surge in unsolicited marketing campaigns from digital marketers or spammers, who use existing number databases culled from public information or online data,” added Bonifacio.

Globe is fully aware of the inconveniences and related problems that may arise from such text messaging scams, and continues to intensify efforts to create a spam-free experience for all customers.

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SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 27, 2021 rumallari@thestandard.com.ph

Huawei PH brings digital skills

to students for sustainable world H

UAWEI Philippines successfully held the 7th Seeds for the Future program this year, with over 100 student delegates representing the best and brightest ICT Talents from their respective universities.

Guest speakers include The Undersecretary of DICT Arnold “Ali” Atienza, Undersecretary of DOST Dr. Renato Solidum, Jr. , together with university heads and Seeds Alumni joined the Closing ceremony.

Undersecretary of DICT Arnold “Ali” Atienza, gave his remarks during the program: “I highly laud Huawei’s Seeds for the Future Program.

The sincerity of Huawei’s intention to eliminate the digital divide cannot be more apparent and clearly manifested in ways other than by providing useful training programs to contribute to ICT talent development and provide the technical skills needed in the industry.

As Huawei aptly puts it, the Seeds for the Future Program is their way of sharing their innovation and technology to hopefully support the requirements of the Philippine ICT Industry and nurture the development of the local ICT Talent ecosystem.”

Undersecretary of DOST Dr. Renato Solidum, Jr. also gave his congratulatory message to the graduates: “Congratulations to our dear scholars for having embarked on this grand adventure of personal and professional growth and may you always cherish with fondness the memories of this journey and never forget the excitement you felt when

PHIVOLCS

offered this proverbial seed and saw the boundless potential contained therein.”

He also shared his hopes to the students, “I would like to express our deepest appreciation with our colleagues and friends at Huawei for helping us in our long term vision to provide world class, scientific, technological, and innovative solutions towards high productivity and better quality of Life. Huawei’s commitment to developing skilled local ICT talents is laudable especially because how it bridges communication in between countries and cultures in a time we needed it most."

The Seeds for the Future program hopes

to contribute to enhance the skills, capabilities and knowledge of local ICT talents.

According to a report by World Economic Forum, ICT made it “possible to create value—as seen in remote work, remote healthcare, and remote education—particularly from the perspective of inclusivity.”

More opportunities will appear for further growth through ICT, as new technologies like 5G, AI, and IoT become more widely applied in the new world.

The reason behind Seeds for the Future program is Huawei’s vision to bring digital to every person, home, organization for a fully connected and intelligent world.

Huawei Philippines Vice President Daniel Guo said during the closing ceremony of Seeds in the Future 2021: “It’s our great pleasure to offer more opportunities for ICT talents, to help students in the Philippines become better equipped, to take advantage of the opportunities in digital technology, and nurture the development of the country’s ICT ecosystem.”

Seeds for the Future program was launched in 2015 in the Philippines. It has benefited more than 200 Filipino students in the past seven years while Huawei ICT Academy started in 2018 in the country, has partnered with more than 50 Philippine universities, with over 9600 students trained.

New smart products to improve wellness

LIZ Insulated Smart Bottle

Ecwid by Lightspeed partners with Xendit ECWID by Lightspeed, a global SaaS ecommerce platform, has partnered with Xendit, a leading payment solutions provider in Indonesia, the Philippines and Southeast Asia, to offer new ways to sell online and enable sellers to accept online payments with popular local payment options.

With Xendit’s payment gateway, online sellers will be able to offer popular local and international payment options in their online stores such as GCash (e-wallets), 7-Eleven (over-the-counter payments), Visa and Mastercard credit cards, and more.

Ecwid by Lightspeed is already present in Indonesia, Philippines, and 175 other countries globally. The partnership with Xendit is a new way to bring the award-winning ecommerce to the fast-growing South East Asian market. Ways to sell with Ecwid include websites, marketplaces like Amazon and eBay, social media like Instagram, Facebook, TikTok, mobile apps and point-of-sale systems.

“At Ecwid by Lightspeed, we’ve long been centered around the idea that e-commerce should be for everyone, and are really excited to be partnering with Xendit to help small to medium businesses in Southeast Asia quickly and easily start selling online”—says Jon Stribling, Director, Partnerships, APAC. “We’re very excited to partner with Ecwid by Lightspeed as it strengthens our commitment to enabling the SME Ecosystem in the Philippines.

The collaboration between Xendit and Ecwid will allow SMEs who currently do not have a large online presence to scale faster and grow their business,” says Christian Reyes, Xendit Philippines COO. Both Ecwid by Lightspeed and Xendit have grown quickly, reflecting the increasing demand for ecommerce technology globally. Earlier this year, Lightspeed Commerce announced the acquisition of Ecwid for $500M. Xendit has raised $150M in series C funding and increased its valuation to $1B.

INTRODUCING NOERDEN, a French digital tech company that aims to have the smartest health tech devices to disrupt the ill-designed and overpriced market of consumer products.

Distributed by Rustan Marketing Corporation, the brand features two smart products that connect users to a healthier and more sustainable lifestyle without compromising design.

NOERDEN’S LIZ Insulated Smart Bottle and the MINIMI Smart Body Scale are the brand’s first products to enter the Philippine market. Liz is a next-gen self-cleaning smart bottle with built-in UV sterilization, hydration reminders, and temperature range; while the Minimi is a mini smart body scale with a bluetooth connection for detailed body composition analysis.

A self-cleaning smart bottle The LIZ Insulated Smart Bottle promises clean drinking and consistent hydration through its touch-responsive lid. Two taps on the lid signal sterilization of the bottle or the water inside thanks to its built-in system with UV-C light, which destroys 99.9% of harmful viruses and odor-causing bacteria by breaking down its DNA. The process only takes 5 minutes to complete,

which is signaled through a blinking white light on the bottle’s LED indicator. Its lidopening detector automatically halts the sterilization if the LIZ is opened before the 5-minute mark ends.

The smart bottle is made of insulated 316 stainless steel that can keep drinks hot for 12 hours and cold for 24 hours. Thanks to its temperature range features, users can easily determine the drink’s state by simply tapping the lid once.

A comprehensive scale to maintain health The MINIMI Smart Body Scale is a lightweight wireless device with a Bluetooth connection for detailed body composition analysis. This isn’t just any ordinary scale that only displays bodyweight but can overall measure 9 detailed biometrics by using the latest Bioelectrical Impedance Analysis technology with 4 precision sensors. MINIMI synchronizes data with Apple Health and Google Fit Connectivity, through the NOERDEN app for detailed body composition analysis with comprehensive data reports and trends with clear graphs. Users can also personalize the smart body scale to align it with their own personal goals by setting targets like a virtual health journal on the

MINIMI Smart Body Scale

app. Unlike typical smart gadgets that are limited to four users only, the MINIMI is open to unlimited users so the experience can be shared with the whole family, who can likewise download the app and create free accounts to track their health and reach their fitness goals.

MINIMI can be used for any body type.

Those who work out more than 7 hours a week can also enable Athlete Mode to get a personalized algorithm for more accurate results. Usable by all household members, everyone can share and use MINIMI by simply downloading the NOERDEN app and creating a free account.

Founded by French entrepreneur, Christophe Cermolacce, NOERDEN aims to boost lifestyles by providing tech that suits and delights its users.

Removal of connectivity roadblocks needed to realize sustained growth THE government is committing a strategic mistake with a slow-paced approach to harnessing the potential of the Philippine digital economy and ignoring connectivity roadblocks, said advocacy groups championing the acceleration of the country’s digital transformation.

“We need enabling policies that will improve the country’s digital highways through funding support and incentives. Moreover, a strong leadership that can go beyond linear bureaucratic thinking which slows down the disruptive but beneficial impact of digitization,” said Orlando Oxales, convenor of CitizenWatch Philippines.

Oxales cited the joint report by Google, Temasek and Bain & Company – e-Conomy SouthEast Asia Report – Roaring 20s: The SEA Digital Decade – released this month, which said the Philippines’ internet economy is projected to reach $40 billion in 2025.

For this year alone, the Philippines’ gross merchandise value—defined as the volume of goods sold— is expected to reach a total value of $17 billion. This is a 93% surge, year on year, on the back of a 132% growth in e-commerce for the same period, according to the report.

“Our decision-makers should understand and internalize this inevitable shift to the digital economy. We have always been headed in this direction; the pandemic only accelerated it,” added Oxales.

Remove roadblocks to connectivity; Invest in digital infrastructure and human capital An October 2021 SWS survey commissioned by think tank Stratbase ADR Institute reported that 89% or approximately 9 out of ten

Filipinos agree that “The benefits of digital technology such as strong cell phone signals, fast ebanking and social media can greatly help create jobs and businesses.”

The same survey also revealed that 92% of the respondents agree that “Government should build, upgrade and extensively expand the country’s digital infrastructure to improve speed, reliability and access to the internet nationwide.”

Stratbase ADRi President, Prof. Dindo Manhit stated that, “The new government should prioritize the full implementation of the National Broadband Plan as a strategic national asset critical to the nation’s digital transformation and economic recovery.”

The enabling policies, incentives and funding support for digital infrastructure will also have profound consequences on our educational system, Manhit said.

While the Philippines has seen an increase in the number of cell sites built since the easing of permitting processes, operationalizing these towers continues to be challenged.

“Power is an integral part in making use of these cellular sites. Some of these erected structures remain unused due to delays in securing necessary power permits. The national government needs to put pressure on key utilities operators and businesses that continue to impede the industry’s growth,” added Manhit.

Expanding centers of prosperity The report said that the Philippines saw 12 million new digital consumers since the start of the pandemic up to the first half of this year, with 65%

of new consumers from non-metro areas.

Oxales said shifting to e-commerce assured entrepreneurs of survival during this difficult time.

“According to the report, 39% of digital merchants in the Philippines believe they would not have made it through the pandemic if not for digital platforms,” he said.

“Imagine the volume of additional business, notwithstanding the lockdown, that could have been generated if it were not for the connectivity problems in many places in the country.”

The same report said that only 68% of internet users are also actual internet consumers.

Ironically, the Philippines has the lowest digital consumer penetration among its neighbors in Southeast Asia.

“What are we doing about this untapped segment that comprises one third of Filipinos who are already online but not yet buying, or selling online?” Oxales asked.

“The potential for Filipino entrepreneurs is not just within his locality but also national and even global. If we are able to tap this, then we would be able to expand our centers of prosperity, not only in NCR or other urban areas, but in the other regions in the country.”

Manhit added that “In building the capacity of the workforce, collaboration between the public and private sectors would be crucial.”

“It is clear that Filipinos know the value of digital technologies and the government must do its part to empower the digital readiness of our entire workforce spectrum. We have to be leaders in the digital world, not laggards,” Manhit said.

RAMON L. TOMELDAN Editor

C4

SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 27, 2021

Motoring

Bold, Brazen, Brooding

The All-New Honda Civic H

EADED by their President, Masahiko Nakamura, Honda Cars Philippines, Inc. (HCPI) launched the 11th Generation “All-New” Honda Civic, virtually, last November 23, 2021.

elegance and sportiness. Size-wise, the compact sedan is longer by 29mm and its wheelbase is longer by 37mm when compared to its predecessor.

Upfront, it gets a pair of newly shaped headlights that either houses full LEDs or projector halogens. For style and functionality, daytime running lights (DRLs) are made standard across the range. Going over the side, the 11th generation Honda Civic flaunts its sleek lines, giving it an elegant and sporty stance. The long hood and its sloping Highlighting the buffed features of the new Civic are, among roofline gives the compact sedan added character. Integrated others, its VTEC turbo engine and Honda SENSING, which turn signals in the side mirrors are standard. Its front pillar altogether demonstrates Honda’s commitment to “Safety for was also pushed back by nearly 2 inches, which elongates Everyone”. its hood for a premium silhouette. Visibility has also been “The Civic has been an iconic nameplate in the market. improved, all thanks to the design changes with its door Local sales started back in 1991, and it was the first Honda mirrors. vehicle that was offered in the country. Throughout several The entire rear end has also been redone, having a new pair generations, it garnered much love from many loyalists and of LED taillights that elegantly illuminates in the night. Other enthusiasts. In fact, globally, the Civic recorded more than RS-exclusive details include black-painted side mirrors, 27 million units sales to date,” Nakamura said at the virtual door handles, shark fin antenna and trunk spoiler, along with launch. chrome-finished dual-exhaust pipes for a sportier look.

He added, “We believe that with the All-New Civic, we have developed an offering that further elevates this iconic model INTERIOR as 2021 saw an opportunity for the recovery of the Philippine Like the exterior, the 11th generation All-New Civic’s Automotive Industry,” Nakamura said. interior takes quite a departure from its predecessor. Its Honda Philippines continues to be one of the country’s minimalist design has been executed with quality materials, leading automobile brands with with over 10,000 units sold, from its soft touchpoints to the honeycomb pattern found on year to date, with year-on-year sales growing by 8 percent - the vents. Depending on the trim level, the All-New Civic manifesting resiliency that is beyond the health crisis. Topping could either come with fabric seats, or a fine combo of suede the feat is Honda Philippines’ sustained prominence as the and leather upholstery exclusive on the RS. 2nd automotive brand in the overall passenger car segment.

Like its predecessor, the latest model is still strong in terms The iconic sedan features a new clean-cut look along with of interior and cargo space. It still has more cabin space a range of high-tech features, and a standard VTEC turbo than most sedans in the segment with additional space to engine for a powerful and engaging driving experience. improve the ease of getting in and out of the car. Plus, its new dimensions also translate to better rear seat comfort.

EXTERIOR For in-car entertainment, all variants of the All-New Civic For its full-model change, the All-New Civic come with touchscreen display audio that either measures now has a more 7-inches or 9-inches. Both screens are Android Auto matured look and Apple CarPlay capable, while the larger with a fine screen has Wireless Apple CarPlay. These mixture infotainment systems power 4speakers o f for the S, and 8speakers for the V. The RS variant, on the other hand, comes with a 12-speaker Bose

sound system.

Other standard convenience features include automatic climate control, and dual zone that is exclusive on the RS variant, while rear air vents, on the other hand, are available for both the V and up. 7-inch digital display with analog is available for both audio and Bluetooth functions, while the larger 10.2-inch full-digital cluster is exclusive on the RS— all these supported with steering wheel mounted controls.

ENGINE AND TRANSMISSION One of the main highlights of the 11th generation AllNew Civic is the 1.5-liter 4-Cylinder DOHC VTEC Turbo enginefound in all grades. Unlike its predecessor, the latest model now has an all-Turbo variant range. This engine can produce 178 PS and 240Nm of torque, which is an additional 5 Ps and 20Nm vs 10th gen 1.5 VTEC Turbo engine. The Civic’s new powertrain also has an additional 37 PS and 66Nm, versus its predecessor’s 1.8L All trims of the Civic are paired with a continuously variable transmission (CVT).

The compact sedan even gets distinct driving modes including Econ, Normal, and lastly, Sport, that is particularly found in the RS variant.

SAFETY In pursuit of Honda’s mission to provide “Safety for Everyone”, Honda SENSING is now standard in all variants of the 11th generation All-New Civic.

Honda SENSING includes the collision mitigation braking system (CMBS), adaptive cruise control (ACC) with lowspeed follow (LSF), lane keeping assist system (LKAS), road departure mitigation system with lane departure warning (RDM with LDW), auto high-beam (AHB) lead car departure notification system (LCDN).

The new Honda SENSING system uses a single monocular camera with a wider field of view combined with improved software offering better vehicle, motorcycle, bicycle, pedestrian and road marking recognition Adding to this is Honda’s G-force Control (G-CON) Collision Safety Body that enhances impact absorption for the added protection of passengers in the event a collision occurs.

In addition, customers can expect top-notch collision safety performance on the All-New Civic through its advanced safety features that are now available across all variants. This includes speed Sensing door locks, multi-view reverse camera, and keyless entry system that are standard for all grades, while the side curtain airbags, Honda LaneWatch camera, and the walk away auto door lock function are exclusive on the RS variant.

Furthermore, other features such as the driver and front passenger airbags, side airbags, anti-lock braking system (ABS), electronic brake force distribution (EBD), vehicle stability assist (VSA), hill start assist (HSA), emergency stop signal (ESS), child lock, ISOFIX child seat anchor, security alarm, and immobilizerare standard safety features for all variants.

AVAILABILITY AND COLORS The 11th generation All-New Civic comes in 5 effortlessly sleek colors : Morning Mist Blue Metallic, Meteoroid Grey Metallic, Ignite Red Metallic, Platinum White Pearl and Lunar Silver Metallic which is exclusivel for S Turbo CVT Honda SENSING.

The Next-Gen Ford Ranger: Technology, versatility revamped FORD recently unveiled its latest pickup in the market - the Next-Generation Ford Ranger - in a global reveal synchronized to all of its markets and in territories where the brand has presence, with Filipino Ford enthusiasts following the grand reveal online through YouTube and Facebook streaming.

In addition to revealing the nextgeneration Ranger, Ford also outlined its “always-on” commitment to customers, with a host of services centered around convenience on their terms. Depending on the market, these include service pickup and delivery, a Ranger Concierge program, and streamlined online service booking options, to name a few.

“With the Ranger, we’ve had a big extended family for decades. This truck has always been a trusted partner to small business owners, farmers, families, adventurers, commercial fleets and so many more in more than 180 markets around the world. And with the new Ranger, this is our moment to deliver.

Not just a product our customers will love, but an always-on experience that will help us build strong and lasting

relationships with them. This is the midsize truck people will want to own and experience,” said Ford president and CEO Jim Farley.

The next-gen Ranger project was led by Ford’s Product Development Center in Australia , comprised of Its international team of dedicated designers and engineers.

Visually, the next-generation Ranger looks bold and confident, with a purposeful exterior that shares Ford’s global truck design DNA. The design features a defined new grille, a signature C-clamp headlight treatment at the front, and a subtle shoulder line down the sides which incorporates bolder wheel-arches, giving the Ranger a surefooted stance. For the first time, the Ford Ranger offers matrix LED headlights.

At the back, the taillights are designed in harmony with the signature graphics on the front. Interior-wise, the car-like cabin steps up, using premium softtouch materials and a prominent portraitstyle center touchscreen with Ford’s signature SYNC®i 4 connectivity and entertainment system.

Rivian, Ford abolish electric vehicle collaboration A WEEK after electric truck maker Rivian made a blistering entry onto Wall Street, they and Detroit auto giant Ford on Friday announced that they have canceled plans to jointly develop an electric vehicle.

Ford, however, shall maintain its stake in the start-up, after investing $500 million in 2019 when it initially announced its plans to collaborate.

“As Ford has scaled its own EV strategy, and demand for Rivian vehicles has grown, we’ve mutually decided to focus on our own projects and deliveries,” Rivian spokeswoman Miranda Jimenez said.

She added that their relationship with

Ford is an important part of their journey, and they shall remain to be an investor and ally on a shared path to an “electrified future.”

In a statement to AFP, Ford also confirmed cancelation.

Demand has surged for Rivian’s R1T pickup trucks, which began production last September. Although the company is loss-making and has delivered less than 200 vehicles as of the end of last month, its value nonetheless soared on its November 10 stock market debut, topping those of traditional automakers General Motors and Ford.

Musk: Server problem quickly resolved; Tesla drivers 100% back behind the wheel TESLA CEO Elon Musk reported late Friday that an app problem that was keeping a number of drivers worldwide from using their cars was on the mend after a server issue was addressed.

Multiple Tesla drivers tweeted that their vehicles were not starting through their phone apps and, instead, had to use keycards - if they were lucky enough to be carrying theirs with them.

Musk responded directly to a South

Korean driver who reported receiving a message about a server error while attempting to connect his Tesla Model 3 into his iPhone app.

Functionality should “be coming back online now. Looks like we may have accidentally increased the verbosity of network traffic.

Apologies, we will take measures to ensure this doesn’t happen again,” Musk said in a statement through his Twitter account. AFP

As the stock market closed last Friday, Rivian was reported to be worth $114 billion, compared to Ford at $77 billion.

Much of the enthusiasm was fueled by the start-up’s partnerships with Ford and with Amazon, which plans to buy 100,000 Rivian vans by 2030. Rivian also has been helped by the buzz around electric vehicles among Wall Street traders who have watched the ascent of Elon Musk’s firm Tesla in recent years.

Ford, however, has stepped up its own electric vehicle plans, announcing it would invest $30 billion by 2025 for the objective’s success. AFP